Rise of the Pack
by Tohka Yatogami
Summary: (Adopted from SwordOfTheGods) Hiro and Zero Two escaped from the Garden for longer than a day before being recaptured, but that little extra time led to a difference that changed everything. If one child could change, could more? Doctor Franxx needed to know.
1. The Deal

**Hey everyone, it's Tohka here with a new story, and this time it's a Darling in the FranXX fanfic! However, before we begin with the usual start notes? There are a few things that I need to say, with the first being that this is a story that I adopted from SwordOfTheGods, who made this great story idea and simply didn't have the time to focus on it alongside his other stories.**

**Anyways, for those who are new to this story? As the summary itself says, this story idea looks at what might happen if Hiro and Zero Two had been able to evade being caught for more than a day, which led to their story taking a much different path because it gave Doctor Franxx an idea. For anyone who came here from the original story? There is one small addition I've put in, and I hope you'll like it.**

**This story may be slow on updates at first, since I'm using a combination of the anime and manga to make it, and the manga's currently only as far as Hiro recalling his past memories. I'll make sure to say when it starts picking up speed, though it will probably take a while. Anyways, I hope readers both new and old enjoy this story.**

**Now, with all of that said? Let's get this story started!**

* * *

**[Chapter 1 - The Deal]**

_Multiple guards were seen running through the heavy snow, chasing after a pair of children, one boy and one girl. Despite their efforts, the pair managed to continuously outrun the adults following after them._

**_"The Jian, also known as the bird that shares wings... because it only has one wing." The boy's voice echoed._**

_The girl showed distress, unable to vocalize it beyond making certain sounds._

_Realizing she was scared, the boy pulled her closer, helping her relax._

**_"Unless a male and female pair lean on each other, and act as one? They're incapable of flight. They're imperfect, incomplete creatures. However, one day? Their way of live... began to strike me as something profoundly beautiful."_**

_The children pushed on, their world nothing but snow and each other... __until suddenly, the boy collapsed on the ground, making the girl panic as she tried to help him up._

**_"The Jian, they live pitiful lives... because until they can find their partner, they must hide among the leaves, only dreaming of the day it can fly through the skies above." The girl's voice echoed._**

_Nothing she did would wake him up, and as she tried, she felt something on his head. __This caused her to brush his hair back, exposing his forehead to reveal a pair of bumps forming._

**_"Although, after a pair finally meets up, do they only fly together? Are they still alone in the world? Once I thought that, I began to wonder..."_**

_Finally, the guards caught up to them, making her panic... though they briefly stopped as they realized the boy was no longer as he once was._

**_"In this world, is the Jian a kind of bird... that can flock together?"_**

_What neither they nor the two children knew was by running for so long? The children had discovered something that would change everything._

* * *

The sound of snow could be heard beating against the windows of the Garden, with the storm's howling winds piercing the glass where the white substance could not.

Since this weather was fairly common? The noise did nothing to disrupt the study taking place in a distant wing of the facility, far from the rest of its occupants.

"Fascinating." A male voice remarked.

A pencil was heard recording the thoughts of a man as he wrote on a clip board. Focusing on the owner of the hand, the sight of the man came into view, revealing an elderly man of many years. It was hard to tell how old he exactly was, other than he was a short man and the whitening of what hair remained attached to his temple.

Half his face was hidden by a black mask, which covered his right eye, his nose, and the entirety of his mouth. A white lab coat hung over his shoulders, hiding what looked to be some kind of uniform.

This man was known as Doctor Franxx, and at the moment, he was currently watching over something he never expected to see.

He moved his eyes back to the sight of the small test subjects, who were struggling against their bonds, straining to reach each other. The gags in their mouths muffled their voices and the blindfolds kept them from seeing, but no matter how the tables were rearranged? Both of them knew could tell where the other was.

"Simply amazing." Doctor Franxx remarked a second time.

His head turned to the head guard that had brought them back.

"Remind me. They were out there for how long?" He inquired.

"Approximately 33 hours, sir." The man answered, speaking without even a shred of emotion.

"Such little time, yet the data speaks for itself." Doctor Franxx replied, looking at the screen next to him.

It showed him X-Rays, CAT scans, and statistics far outside the range of other potential Parasites. His eye drifted to the x-ray of the boy's cranium, where the front part of his hair had been sheered away, and the bumps that had formed in two places. The scan of the same area showed that his brain had moved a little, making room for a new organ forming at the bumps' bases.

Another image showed the boy's teeth, which were largely the same as before, but his canines were sharper a little longer than average. Enough that despite having already having his gag replaced once... he bit through it a second time!

"Zero Two! Zero-" The boy shouted.

And once again, the nurse swiftly replaced it with a new one. This in turn caused the girl, who had blood-red skin as if she was some kind of demon, to double her struggles in an attempt to reach out for him.

"What would you like us to do, sir? Should we suppress their memories?" The guard asked.

"Do nothing of the sort." Doctor Franxx answered.

The Doctor slowly turned to look at the guard directly.

"I would like to see how they progress, especially with the genetic changes the boy has started to show. Have the windows of Code 002's room replaced with bulletproof glass and an extra bed added before returning them. Monitor them at all times, but make them comfortable. If they ask for food or something small, give it to them." He requested.

"Understood sir, shall I send word to Papa?" The guard responded.

"Not yet, I will do so once we have more data." Doctor Franxx replied.

The guard nodded his head.

Doctor Franxx turned his attention back to the duo, wondering what they would show him in the coming days.

* * *

**_~ One Month Later: Unknown Location_**

This was the time Doctor Franxx had been waiting for, standing before a group of seven holographic screens showcasing men with masks resembling robotic simians and white robes with gold details, a few spots of black, and red interiors.

The men who were his superiors, the group of seven known as APE, and the leaders for all of Humanity.

"Doctor Franxx, what is it that you wish to tell us?" Papa asked, otherwise known as the Chairman.

"This may upset you, but..." Doctor Franxx answered.

He told them about what happened a month ago, and once he got to a certain point...

"Just to rephrase... you've had this boy, a double-digit Code no less, for a month... and did not tell us?" The Vice Chairman asked.

Doctor Franxx wasn't sure what their current expressions were, if they had any, since their golden masks prevent them from being seen.

However, the doctor would not be intimidated.

"I could not risk the council ordering me to suppress his new DNA or order his disposal, and I believe I was right to do so." He answered.

"Explain." Papa responded.

Doctor Franxx sent the data over to them.

"The data speaks for itself. His physical results are leaps and bounds above what his peers can exhibit, and his aptitude scores have nearly doubled. Earlier this week, I was able to convince Codes 016 and 002 to test their potential as a Stamen-Pistil pair, and the results suggest they could activate a FRANXX already, and the only cost is his shift from human to hybrid." Doctor Franxx revealed.

After looking it over, Papa hummed slightly.

"Yes, the data is impressive, and I'm going to assume Code 016 could not have been returned to the normal children after the mutations." Papa realized.

"True, but at the same time, that leaves the biggest question. What do you want from us, now that you've given us this information a month late?" Tarsier asked.

Every member of APE looked at Doctor Franxx.

"I wish to try to recreate the transformation with more children." He revealed.

This got Papa's attention.

"As in a whole squad?" Papa guessed.

"Yes, as from what I've seen? Having Code 016 around has greatly improved 002's mental state and agreeability, in addition to their scores, though at the cost of her having become heavily dependent on him. I imagine it is because he is the first child she has ever met and is now the same as her, so what could a whole squad of hybrids do for her and each other?" Doctor Franxx confirmed, explaining his reasoning.

This got the interest of a slightly feminine member.

"If all of them take to the change as well as Code 016 did, then such a squad could end the war." Marmoset realized.

"Not to mention that the worst we'll lose is a small number of children that we can't guarantee will be able to pilot a FRANXX." Baboon agreed.

"It's also not as dangerous as the cloning idea we discussed a few days ago." Lemur added.

"Then I believe we're all in agreement?" Gorilla assumed.

The entirety of APE showed their approval, causing Papa to look at Doctor Franxx.

"We shall accept your proposal. Do you have any personal conditions for the trial?" Papa approved.

"I would prefer to bring ten children into the trial. A group of twelve would allow for some leeway to account for the emotional differences the hybrids may experience. I would also need freedom with resources to earn the trust of our current hybrids. Also, special FRANXX for each pair may also increase their fighting potential." He requested.

"Granted. You have permission to give the children anything short of their freedom to earn their cooperation." Papa approved.

"Thank you Papa, I will not fail you." Doctor Franxx replied.

* * *

The door slid open, showing its usual scene, which was Code 002 and 016 huddled together on their bed in the corner. It had been her bed, with the one they had brought in for Code 016 having been left unused the whole time it had been there.

Noticing the newcomer, their eyes watched Doctor Franxx with suspicion, but they no longer held the glares they had before. Still, 016 sat in front of 002 protectively, her hands on his shoulder while pressing herself into his back. His arms were stretched out, baring sharp, blue nails. Were the doctor more sentimental, he might have found the image cute.

Code 016 had changed in the month since he tried to free 002, becoming less human. Horns of a deep sapphire blue jutted from his bangs, far shorter than those of the girl next to him. The two-inch horns of his were surrounded at the base by the almost-black blue of his hair, the tiny color shift a side effect of his transformation. His pupils were the same sapphire color of the protrusions, several shades darker than they had been. There was also a slight blue discoloration around his eyes, but it was hard to notice it that the moment.

Code 002, through her changes were less, had become much more noticeable. Her skin color had paled over the past month, becoming a rosy pink rather than the blood red it had been. It was not as light as her hair, but was still fading. Her pupils were a brilliant green, with the red sclera that had framed them now white like a human's, with the skin around having maintained its original deep red.

Their room was sparsely furnished, but they asked for little. There were the aforementioned two beds as well as a chair and a rug. A pile of discarded candy wrappers was shoved into the corner, which Doctor Franxx theorized was a result of the Saurification process giving them a strong sweet tooth, and a picture book rested on the bed beside them.

"What do you want? More tests?" Code 016 demanded, glaring at him.

"Nothing of the sort." The old man answered.

He pulled the chair over to sit down, placing himself eye-level with the two children.

"I'm here to make a deal with you." Doctor Franxx offered.

"A deal?" 016 repeated in surprise.

Based on her expression, 002 was surprised as well.

"We've done every test you wanted, whether we wanted to or not. Why make a deal with us now?" 016 questioned.

"We need your cooperation, and I have permission to give you almost anything in exchange for it." Doctor Franxx answered.

016 and 002's eyes widened, causing them to turn as they touched their horns together, causing a glow to start emanating from them. While it seemed like they were being silent, they were actually using telepathic communication.

After talking for a while, 016 looked at Doctor Franxx, both he and 002 having made their decision.

"Ok, we're interested. What do you want?" 016 asked.

Doctor Franxx leaned forward, with the children unconsciously mirroring him.

"To be blunt, your changes, Code 016, are amazing and completely unexpected. We want to see if we can replicate them in others." He admitted.

"Rep... icate?" 002 asked.

One major reason for her and 016's usual communication through telepathy was because prior to meeting each other? She had never verbally spoken, and still had trouble speaking through her vocal cords.

"Basically, we want to see if other children will change as 016 changed, or find out if he is anomaly. If it works, there will be more children like you two, and you all will form a squad. A... pack, if you will. I can assure you, none of the tests after their transformations will be as bad as what you two suffered through." Doctor Franxx explained.

"Pack?" 002 repeated.

"It's... something like a group, but for animals." 016 explained.

002 thought over it for a while.

"Ehwo Two want pack. Dah-rin want pack?" She replied, looking at him.

"We have some conditions." 016 stated, his body language saying yes.

"Those conditions are?" Doctor Franxx inquired.

"This change is permanent, right? I want the kids to be able to choose to do it with a chance to back out." He revealed, for his first condition.

He wasn't too surprised by that request. Besides each other, having a choice was an ideal that 016 and 002 seemed to value more than anything. Making them agree to the tests without complaint had involved starving them out three times, but it made them choose.

Hopefully the other candidates wouldn't be as difficult.

"That shouldn't be an issue. So, what's your next condition?" Doctor Franxx replied.

"We want to pick the other children." 016 continued.

Doctor Franxx had been close to saying that wouldn't be allowed, but then he remembered they weren't allowed to interact with the children.

"I can't let you directly interact with the children, but I can bring you pictures. Is that acceptable?" He inquired.

"If we can name them." 016 answered.

"I'm assuming this is similar to how you call yourself Hiro, yet still respond to being called Code 016?" Doctor Franxx asked.

016, or rather Hiro, nodded in response.

"As long as you don't directly change their numeral designations, I don't see that as a problem. It may serve well considering the unique nature this squad will have." Doctor Franxx replied.

"One last thing. We want to know what Zero Two is and what happened to me, and we want you to explain that to the others before they change." Hiro requested.

Doctor Franxx sighed, having expected this was going to happen. Hiro and 002, or Zero Two as Hiro called her, seemed to realize this and expected he'd have to decline.

"Very well." He replied.

Both of them were startled by this, noticing his voice seemed to sound... heavier?

"Code 002, you were the product of a test to combine human DNA with the purest Klaxosaur DNA we could get our hands on. Humanity has been fighting the Klaxosaurs for many years now, and the experiment seemed like the best choice to give us an advantage." Doctor Franxx explained.

He turned towards Hiro, then began the next part of his explanation.

"You, 016, were an accident with amazing consequences. Somehow, while you and 002 were on your... misadventure outside, you acquired some of her genetic code and your body changed to become more like her. In short, both of you are Human/Klaxosaur hybrids, and your future pack may just possibly humanity's greatest hope of survival." He revealed.

They didn't get understand he said, but what they could understand was they were special.

* * *

Hiro and Zero Two knelt on their room's rug the following day, looking at the nearly 200 pictures laid on the floor before them.

Doctor Franxx was observing them from across the grid alongside some guards, who were constantly backing from anywhere the duo had arranged the images, and his mechanical eye soon noticed Hiro's gaze instantly move to a certain three pictures.

"Among all these options, I'd like you to choose five pairs of partners, and I would like you to verbally explain why you choose each child. Also, remember that a FRANXX can only be partnered by a male and female pair." Doctor Franxx explained, getting their attention.

Nodding his head, Hiro quickly grabbed two familiar pictures.

"I want these two." He stated, not explaining any further.

"Ah, those are Codes 015 and 056, friends of yours from the Nursery, correct? I believe you've already named them as well." Doctor Franxx recalled.

"Yeah, Ichigo and Goro." Hiro replied.

Zero Two gave him a confused look in response, prompting him to make their horns touch.

"They're friends, you've seen them in my memories." He explained, giving her a reminder.

'Memory sharing? Just how deep can their connection run for something like that to be possible? How could that effect their sync numbers as they grow?' He thought, realizing just how much he failed to learn with just Zero Two.

To be fair, perhaps he never considered it due to how he gained access to Klaxosaur DNA to begin with, which was a single specimen.

"Alright, four more pairs." Doctor Franxx stated, collecting the pictures.

"I have one in mind. Zero Two, pick a girl you think will match him." Hiro stated, grabbing the third familiar picture.

Looking around the pictures, the pink hybrid eventually found one that matched near the bottom, which she grabbed.

"Her." She replied, the number on her picture saying 556.

"Code 326, I believe he's the boy who tried the elixir and was the first to survive, was he also a friend of yours?" Doctor Franxx recalled, looking at Hiro.

"Yes, his name is Mitsuru." Hiro revealed.

"I see, and the reason you chose Code 556?" Doctor Franxx inquired, looking at Zero Two.

"Same hair." Zero Two answered.

Doctor Franxx noticed their hair was close, but he didn't agree they were the same. Regardless, he accepted the pair and once again collected the images, with both Hiro and Zero Two now choosing among children they didn't know.

"How about... this one?" Hiro decided, grabbing one.

"Her!" Zero Two shouted, picking hers.

Doctor Franxx noticed that this time, they had chosen Codes 666 and 390.

"And your reason?" Doctor Franxx asked.

"They seem like they're both kind of... hard to control?" Hiro answered, unsure how else they should describe it.

"Alright then, two more pairs." He replied, taking the images.

"Hmm... Zero Two, how about we each choose a pair this time?" Hiro suggested.

Zero Two nodded her head in agreement.

Both of them looked over to decide the last two pairs. For Hiro, he noticed a girl that he recalled Ichigo being familiar with who had often been alone due her initial attempts to name herself, and then a boy who was a little chubby that made him similarly different and out of place among the children.

And for Zero Two, she saw a girl with short brown hair that was similarly wavy to Code 556, but less so. Then a boy with unusually white hair that was unusually long for his gender, yet not too much one could mistake him as a girl. She noticed the girl's face was happy or expressive, while the boy's face was either somber or monotone.

"These two." Hiro decided.

"Dem!" Zero Two stated.

Doctor Franxx looked at the two pairs, seeing Hiro chose Codes 214 and 196, while Zero Two broke the pattern of sharing digits and chose Codes 703 and 061.

"And your reasons?" Doctor Franxx asked.

"One moment." Hiro replied.

He and Zero Two tapped horns again, so he could properly convey hers.

"My pair seems like they're not as connected to the other children, while Zero Two chose hers because the girl is happy and the boy is sad." He explained.

Doctor Franxx assumed 002's reason was saying the girl might help the boy look happier since she had been in a similar situation.

"Looks like each pair has been decided." Doctor Franxx declared.

Upon hearing that, Zero Two struggled for words for a moment, wanting to say something.

"Feel right. Like family? Not Dah-rin family, but... diff'rent-same?" She asked.

Hiro nodded, while Doctor Franxx was left confused as he gestured for the guards to remove the rest of the pictures. With their task completed, 002 grabbed the arm of the other hybrid, leaning into his side.

"I shall have the children brought after dinner, if that is fine with you." Doctor Franxx stated.

Zero Two nodded quickly, hugging 016 tighter as the old man pushed himself to his feet and headed toward the door.

"Before I go, there's something I'd like to ask. How did you acquire each other's DNA?" He inquired, turning to look at them.

"So, you know how to repeat the process?" Hiro asked.

"Correct." Doctor Franxx verified.

"Let's see... ah! Zero Two skinned her knee, and since I read somewhere that animals licked their wounds to help them heal, I decided to lick it clean." Hiro recalled.

"In other words, ingesting the DNA was enough to acquire it." Doctor Franxx realized, knowing he would only need some of Zero Two's blood.

"Oh, and Doctor Franxx?" Hiro asked.

That made the man pause as he looked at Hiro, who was silent for a few seconds as he chose his words.

"I don't regret my actions, or meeting Zero Two even though I know I wasn't supposed to. Still, thank you for letting us choose." He replied, thanking him.

"I expect you to work hard, as Papa has allowed me to do this. Make sure he doesn't regret it." Doctor Franxx responded.

With that, he excited the room and left the two hybrids to themselves, a giddy smile hidden under his mask as he thought of the possibilities that were likely to follow.

* * *

The strange group of children were seen showing various reactions, which ranged from nervous to excited, as the guards led them towards Hiro and Zero Two's location.

No one could really blame their reactions. Each of them was pulled from the lines as they exited the cafeteria after dinner, with no explanation of any kind, and that made it very likely they might have been chosen to disappear as some children had.

"What are we even doing?" Code 390 wondered aloud, briefly glancing at all the children she didn't recognize.

The only one she knew was the large boy known as Code 214, and she had never actually talked to him.

"I believe we're far enough away to tell you now. You lot have all been chosen to be part of a special squad, one Doctor Franxx himself is in charge of forming." One of the guards finally revealed.

"A special s-" Code 666 exclaimed.

One of the guards covered his mouth.

"It's a _secret_ squad, so don't announce it." The guard warned.

"Sorry." He apologized.

He cleared his throat, altering his voice to a whispering scream.

"A secret squad! You hear that? Papa thinks we're special and have chosen us! I wonder what Papa wants us to do?" He quietly cheered, his face breaking into a large smile.

"It's probably important if it's meant to be a secret." Code 556 replied.

Ichigo, Goro, and Mitsuru glanced at each other. Hiro had disappeared nearly a month ago, his stuff removed half a week after that, but each of them were something of a close friend of his. For all three of them to be picked had to be more than coincidence.

Still, that did not explain the presence of the other seven kids, even if Ikuno was from the same Nursery as them.

Their walk came to an end in a dim hallway far from where they'd begun. The guard in the lead placed his hand on a panel, the door opening a second afterward.

"In you go, Doctor Franxx will explain once you are inside." The leading guard stated, gesturing to the room.

Codes 666 and 390 raced to the door, pushing each other in their attempts to get ahead. Ichigo, Goro, and Mitsuru simply stared before following them as a group. After that, the remaining five Parasite recruits entered.

They saw the room was a dull beige, one long bench lining the right wall. The guards instructed them to sit before leaving, closing the door behind them.

It was quiet for a minute, the silence broken only by the excited quivering of 666, until a door on the far wall opened to allow entry to the aged doctor.

"It's good to see the guards are nothing if not efficient." He remarked.

He stepped before the children, getting the attention of all but 061, who only bothered looking once 703 nudged him.

"Fine, fine..." 061 muttered.

"Now, as you have either been told or could infer? The ten of you have been selected for a special test group I am creating, but there are some... risks I have been asked to inform you about beforehand." Doctor Franxx began.

That freaked out 556 and 703 slightly, while Ichigo and Goro felt nervous, and Mitsuru felt terror as he remembered how dangerous the Elixir was since he was the only one to have actually survived what had a 99% mortality rate.

"The choice lies with each of you as to if you wish to continue after being made aware." Doctor Franxx continued.

Mitsuru raised his hand.

"Yes 326?" He inquired.

"What will happen if we chose not to go through with the test?" Mitsuru inquired.

"Why wouldn't you? Papa chose us! Papa's never wrong!" 666 loudly questioned.

Doctor Franxx cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"The memories of this discussion and the walk here will be suppressed." Doctor Franxx revealed.

Everyone, including 666, suddenly jerked in surprise.

"Calm down. This is all you'll forget, as Knowledge of this trial is sensitive. If you choose to pass? You will forget everything you learned during this briefing and then return to your Nursery, and another child will take your place." He continued.

"I don't care what the test is! If it's for Papa, I'll do anything!" 666 declared, raising his hand in the air.

"Even cease to be human?" Doctor Franxx questioned.

Those words startled all the children, including 666 as his smirk faltered, once again.

"This test will be life-changing, which is why I have been asked to give you the choice. Our first subject went through the experience without our knowledge, and as a result, he had neither the choice nor any idea what would happen. Since we weren't expecting it either, you have been selected as a group in whom we will attempt to replicate what happened." He revealed, explaining everything.

"And... if it works?" Goro asked.

"If we are successful, you will be faster, stronger, and have far more potential than any of your peers, but you will no longer be fully human." Doctor Franxx answered.

556 lifted her hand up.

"Yes 556?" He asked.

"I-If our memories will be t-taken if we choose to leave, d-does that mean you're about tell us what we'll t-turn into?" She asked.

"I am, but first I'll tell you how this process came to our attention. I believe four of you know Code 016? Or as he calls himself, Hiro?" He replied.

The Parasites jumped again, but most for a different reason than the other. Ichigo, Goro, Mitsuru, and Ikuno each raised their hands to show they knew Hiro, the first three gobsmacked. As for the other six, sans 061, they were blown away at the idea that a child would choose to not go by their number.

"Hiro... he's the first subject who didn't have a choice, wasn't he?" Ichigo realized.

"He... discarded his designation?" 214 muttered.

"Hiro's always been a little different, and gave everyone in our Nursery a nickname. I'm Goro, while these are Ichigo, Mitsuru, and Ikuno." Goro explained, a look of relief clear on his face.

061 yawned as the other Parasites unfamiliar with Hiro still showed shock.

"If that bothers any of you, then you should leave now.016 has been given a lot of freedom over this project for his and his partner's cooperation, and that includes naming each of you." Doctor Franxx began, preventing the boy from opening his mouth.

He went quiet, allowing the old man to continue.

"016 was a special subject for his potential as a double-digit, but chose to... explore after one of his tests had concluded. During his wanderings, he accidentally witnessed the testing of another subject. Her designation is Code 002. She was created by combining the DNA of a human with pure Klaxosaur DNA, making her a hybrid of the two. He did not approve of some of the more... extensive tests he saw being done to her." He explained.

Mitsuru briefly paled at that.

"So, he climbed a tree, broke a window in 002's room, and took her on an adventure." Doctor Franxx revealed.

"Yeah, that sounds like Hiro." Mitsuru sighed.

"Codes 002 and 016 were outside for a total of 33 hours before the guards found them and brought them back, but by then? The changes had already started. He ingested some of her blood in an attempt to help her recover from a skinned knee, and the Klaxosaur genes reacted inside him, overpowering his human chromosomes and turning him into a hybrid as well." Doctor Franxx continued.

The ten children gasped in response. Finally, Code 390 recovered some of her wits.

"You want us to become hybrids too, that's why you mentioned not being human anymore." She said, her statement plain despite the mystified voice she spoke with.

"Indeed, that's also why 016 wanted me to receive your permission beforehand. You do not need to make your decision right now, but you will by the end of tonight. That way, you are not 'flying blind' as they use to say. 016 and 002 have agreed to show themselves to you, both to prove they are healthy and to show the side effects of the change. Are there any questions?" Doctor Franxx inquired.

There was silence at first.

"Why us?" Ikuno asked, finally breaking it.

"Because 016 and 002 chose you." Doctor Franxx answered.

Ichigo, Goro, and Mitsuru shared glances once again.

"Alright, bring them out! I wanna see these hybrids you've told us about!" Code 666 demanded.

Doctor Franxx did not answer, walking to the door he had come from and knocking on its surface. The door opened as the doctor stepped back, allowing the children on the other side to enter.

"Hiro!" His trio of friends called.

They rushed from their seats to meet their wayward companion. They slowed to a stop before reaching him, seeing the pink girl clutching Hiro's arm growl at them while baring her teeth

He turned his head, and horns he hadn't had the last time they had seen him brushing against the girl's own set.

"Easy there Zero Two, they're friends." Hiro reassured her.

She visibly calmed, but still eyed the three suspiciously.

"Hi everyone, I'm Code 016, but you can call me Hiro." He greeted, looking at the Parasites he was unfamiliar with.

He then nudged Zero Two slightly, making her look at them.

"And this girl is Zero Two, she's a little shy." Hiro revealed.

"Dah-rin, this pack?" She asked.

"Yeah, Zero Two. These guys will be our pack, if they want to be." Hiro confirmed.

666 quickly bounced over to the pair.

"Whoa, are those real!? What else can you do? Would ours be the same colors, or would they each be different?" 666 asked, almost without breathing.

"Of course they're real!" 390 replied, whacking excited boy across the back of his head.

"Ow!" He groaned, rubbing where she hit him.

390 took the moment to get a closer look at her horns.

"And they're really pretty!" She smiled.

"H-Hiro... we thought that you were gone, that you had vanished like the others!" Ichigo cried, tears pouring from her eyes.

She stepped forward, uncaring for the hybrid clinging to her friend as she wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm fine Ichigo, I'm better than fine actually. I finally got a chance to see you all again and I took it. I know I'm different, but that was my fault. Zero Two needed a friend, so I did what I had to do." He replied, petting her head.

Zero Two doubled her hold on the blue-horned boy.

"Dah-rin help Ehwo Two. Us 'arwee. Ehwo Two be wiff Dah-rin fo-eva." She said, believing telepathy didn't work on them.

"Is she ok?" Mitsuru asked.

"Zero Two never had anyone teach her how to talk while growing up, and never talked before we met, so she's still learning how to speak." Hiro explained, touching his horns to hers again.

"So, uh... Doctor Franxx mentioned being faster and stronger and stuff. What can you two really do?" 214 asked.

"Not sure of the full specifics, but because of Klaxosaur blood, we top out over the other recruits for just about all our scores. We can run without getting tired for a long time, pick up more than our body weight, and we don't need to use the bathroom at all! Well, we also don't have to eat or sleep, but it makes me feel uncomfortable, and Zero Two became the same after trying both for the first time." Hiro listed off.

"Anything specific to the Klaxosaur blood itself?" Ikuno inquired.

"Well, when my horns touch Zero Two's, we can talk without words." He answered.

That made everyone gasp, even getting the normally uninterested 061's attention.

"That's amazing, but... aren't you afraid people will single you out because you're different?" 703 praised, followed by her inquiry.

"It'll happen, but if we have a whole squad like us? We'll fit right in. We'd all be different together!" Hiro smiled.

"Then I'm in! I want a cool pair of horns, so Papa will know how devoted I am!" 666 decided.

"I'm in too! No way will I let this loudmouth be better than me!" 390 said in reply.

"Who're you calling a loudmouth, shorty!" He retorted.

"You're short too!" She countered.

Doctor Franxx was quick to realize the pair of 666 and 390 were fairly close to how Hiro assumed they'd be, realizing this would be the first of many arguments between them.

"What about you guys?" Hiro asked, turning to his friends.

The trio shared yet another glance before Goro nudged one of Hiro's horns with a fist.

"You aren't getting rid of us that easily. We're in." Goro smiled.

"I... I want in too. I want to help!" 556 stuttered.

"Eh... what the heck? I've been bored with everything else, and this should at least reduce it." 061 shrugged.

"Count me in!" 703 shouted with excitement.

All eyes turned to the remaining pair of 214 and Ikuno, watching them expectantly.

"Before I decide... does being half-Klaxosaur make you unable to eat anything?" 214 asked.

"Not really. In fact, I think we can eat more than we could. Though I've been preferring sweet things since then, which Doctor Franxx says is something about our sugars and energy since we don't use the bathroom." Hiro answered.

Zero Two's eyes sparkled at that.

"Then what the heck? Bring on the blood!" 214 decided.

"Same here. If you're all doing it, then I might as well follow." Ikuno decided.

Doctor Franxx clapped his hands.

"Excellent! Fully acceptance! I'll send word to the guards to retrieve all of your stuff. Tonight, you'll all sleep in The Cave." He stated,

"The Cave?" Ichigo asked.

"That's what Zero Two and I call our room, since it feels like one." Hiro answered.

"I didn't see much problem with it, so I just went with it." Doctor Franxx answered.

He began to walk off, then briefly turned to look at dozen before him.

"You'll all receive your first dose of blue blood tomorrow morning. Be proud, for soon enough, you will be the first of your kind and the key to humanity's victory!" Doctor Franxx encouraged.

666 shouted on everyone's behalf, right before Hiro turned to them.

"Now, let's decide what your names should be." He stated.

Those without names sat down as Hiro began the process. By the time they all went to sleep for the night, they had all been given their names.

The Parasites originally known as 666, 214, 061, 556, 390, and 703 were now respectively known as Zorome, Futoshi, Orochi, Kokoro, Miku and Naomi.

* * *

Zorome as he was now named rolled the blue pills Doctor Franxx had handed him after breakfast in his palm.

There were five of them, each smaller than a fingernail. According to Doctor Franxx, all he had to do was bite down on them and swallow, which is when the changes would presumably start if things worked out.

"These will change us forever... no going back." Futoshi muttered.

"I'll admit... sleeping in the same room as boys was weird, but Hiro and Zero Two looked so comfy and happy together. If growing horns can give me that sort of smile, then I'm definitely in." Miku replied.

She immediately threw her head back, biting each pill in one go... only to throw her head forward as it turned blue.

"Whoa, are they really that bad?" Zorome thought aloud.

"They taste like metal!" Miku answered, still feeling the taste on her tongue.

Zorome quickly downed his handful, soon having the same reaction.

"Who cares how they taste? I'm sure my horns will be better than yours." He remarked.

"Nu-uh! You'll have ugly horns! Mine will be way better!" Miku denied.

One again, the two began butting heads and growling at each other, with Kokoro silently watching as she individually ate each pill. While it still tasted bad? It seemed the taste wasn't as bad when eaten separately.

"I've gotta say Hiro, a day ago I thought you were dead, and now you're leading us into new territory." Goro remarked, studying the catalysts for his hybrid transformation.

He threw the tiny spheres into his mouth, his face twisting with the same gross taste. Next to him, the sight of everyone except Orochi having similar reactions to the metallic taste could be seen.

"How do you not think it tastes bad!?" Ichigo questioned.

"Who said I didn't?" Orochi replied.

It was hard to tell if he was being honest or not, considering how he rarely seemed to show any expression to anything.

"How long do you think it will take us to catch up?" Ichigo asked, chugging a glass a water to clear her mouth moments after.

"I'm not sure. Zero Two and I met a little over a month ago, but we aren't sure when the changes will stop, if ever." Hiro shrugged, with Zero Two clinging to him.

The only time anyone had seen her let go of him was when she showered that morning.

"Although, it seems the horns are in a constant state of growth. It's at a rate where Doctor Franxx even says they should be shaved down once a week, so they don't affect our balance." He added.

"I can't wait! Do you think all the boys will have blue horns while the girls have red?" Zorome exclaimed, looking at Hiro's horns.

"Hard to say. Hiro and Zero Two are the only hybrids, so any part could be gender-specific or individual, and we will have no way of knowing until our changes start to show. Speaking of which..." Ikuno answered.

The bookworm turned to the pair of hybrids.

"We have some time, so why don't you detail all of the changes and in what order they happened?" She suggested.

"I wanna hear about your adventure!" Zorome shouted.

"And why is Zero Two's name not like the rest of ours?" Miku asked, somewhat curious.

"Sure, I can answer all of those." Hiro agreed.

He decided to begin with their adventure, eventually reaching the part where they got caught.

"I just suddenly collapsed. I think that may have been when my Saurification, as the Doctor calls it, officially began. Had it not happened? We might have been able to run for at least a little longer." Hiro finished.

"So, it wasn't so much they caught up to you as you weren't able to keep running?" Goro asked.

"Guess so." Hiro replied.

Zero Two looked a little guilty, but Hiro soon pet her head to make her feel better.

"As for Zero Two's name? I did consider naming her Oni, but that didn't seem like a good name, and then I just casually mentioned Zero Two... and then she kept repeating it. Since she basically chose it as her name, that's when I settled on." He revealed.

Ichigo snorted slightly at that, finding it a little funny.

Finally, Hiro began recalling the process.

"As for the process itself... Zero Two was born with her traits, so I'm the only one who's gone through them, though she used to have red skin and red where the white of her eyes are for us. I'm not sure what caused that." He explained.

"Me niver." Zero Two replied, similarly confused.

"From what I remember, my horns finished developing about a week-and-a-half ago. We were reading Zero Two's book while working on her speech when our horns first touched. Suddenly, I got all these emotions and images in my head that I weren't mine. Zero Two and I have been communicating this way ever since." Hiro continued.

"Are there any downsides to it?" Ichigo wondered.

Hiro thought for a moment.

"I guess... the one bad thing is you can't hide anything when you do this. Me and Zero Two always _see_ every one of the other's thoughts and feel all their emotions. We can share memories too, but that seems to be optional." He answered.

Ichigo faltered at that.

That sort of communication, while cool, sounded incredibly invasive. Though at the same time? It was a testament to how close Hiro and Zero Two had gotten in a month that they could be so open with each other.

"Anyways, where was I?" Hiro asked, unwrapping some candy for Zero Two.

"You mentioned your horns, but you never really sad when it starts." Goro answered.

"I didn't? Well, I guess it starts by tomorrow, based on when I collapsed. I'm not sure if that will happen to you, but I had been tired and out in the cold when it happened to me." He answered.

He pointed at his head, where his horns were.

"That's when the horns began to grow, being tiny bumps, with my teeth having also gotten sharper by then." Hiro also mentioned.

"Meaning the initial changes are in the face, and we should look for the changes in the form of horn bumps and sharper teeth." Mitsuru realized.

"I don't see why they wouldn't! We're gonna be the best squad ever!" Zorome laughed.

"Is that it? Ya know, besides the inside stuff?" Miku questioned.

"Not quite. My eyesight has gotten better, and you can see these blue rings if you look closely, since they're still developing. My nails are also sharp, and they match my horns. That started with everything else, but they have to grow in." Hiro answered.

He scratched his head, trying to think of more... though nothing came to mind.

"I think that's it. There may be more, but I may still have yet to develop that far myself, so it's a mystery until then." Hiro stated.

"Do you regret it at all?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a little late for that now, since we already ate the pills." Futoshi remarked, looking a little embarrassed.

"I don't regret a thing, Zero Two is one of the best things to ever happen to me." Hiro answered, his smile causing Ichigo's heart to squeeze.

"Dah-rin best, will be wiff Dah-rin ahways." Zero Two said, her conviction clear.

"Yes, yes. The changes are very intriguing." Doctor Franxx remarked, stepping into the room.

Everyone looked at him.

"Everyone has taken their starters, correct?" He asked.

"We have." Ikuno nodded.  
"Yeah, let's go!" Miku and Zorome said in unison.

Doctor Franxx stared at them for a second before pulling out a clipboard and making a note.

"Hybrid transformations possibly offer hypersensitive compatibility projections. Further research required." He quietly muttered.

"Uh, sir? What are you muttering about?" Kokoro asked.

"One of the conditions for this squad, or Pack as 016 and 002 like calling it, was for them to pick each of you. I asked them to do so in pairs to form your future Stamen-Pistil partnerships. 016 selected 666 and 390 as a pair with the explanation of them being... well, I think you can see how similar they are." Doctor Franxx explained.

Both of them looked at him in shock.

"You mean I have to ride with him/her?!" Zorome and Miku yelled, pointing at each other.

"Fact established and acknowledged." Doctor Franxx remarked.

"What were the other pairings, if you don't mind my asking?" Futoshi asked.

"No, it's not a problem. It's probably best for each pair of partners to lean on each other through the transformations like 016 did on 002." He answered.

He soon looked at each Parasite by their pairs.

"As for the other pairings? They are 015 with 056, due to their friendship with 016. 196 with 214, since they've both been mostly alone in their respective nurseries. 326 with 556, because of their... similar hair. Finally, 703 with 061, due to their contrasting personalities." He revealed.

Mitsuru and Ikuno seemed a little upset, but Doctor Franxx couldn't tell why, so he motioned to Hiro in order for him to try figuring out what might be bothering them.

"Are there any more questions?" He asked.

"Considering we are a special test group? I suppose we can expect more differences in our future lifestyle than the... obvious changes?" Mitsuru asked, briefly glancing at Zero Two's horns.

"Your living quarters will be far different than what you are used to, as you likely noticed last night when sleeping in the Cave, yes?" Doctor Franxx answered.

"Yeah! Hiro and Zero Two slept in the same bed, while we slept on the floor! What's up with that? Boys are gross and icky!" Miku complained in response.

Zorome gave her a deadpan look.

"I don't see what you're complaining about, considering you took the other bed and left us on the floor." He reminded her.

Miku froze, saying nothing for fear of a retort.

"Still, you saw their smiles, didn't? I'm not sure why, but they looked so happy." Naomi mentioned, smiling.

"The sort of connection 016 and 002 have developed is the goal of every set of FRANXX pilots, and they have reached that point nearly a decade early after spending only a month together. As you children begin the change, we will have you start emulating them to develop those same bonds." Doctor Franxx mentioned.

The children shared looks around the table.

"Yeah, this is going to be weird." Orochi remarked, voicing everyone's collective thoughts.

* * *

As the children were learning about their newly developing nature? In an area far away, from both the Garden and the rest of Humanity... there was a cavernous area covered in a strong blue glow.

Deep within its center, a large black snake that had this same glow on certain parts of its body could be seen, partially acting as the throne for another, much smaller creature that also lived in the area. This being looked to be female, but wasn't Human, with an appearance that seemed as monstrous as Zero Two's initial form, only with the addition of sharp tendrils on her back and a single horn on a mostly black and blue body.

Her eyes suddenly shot open, sensing something that got the attention of the snake, who replied through its eyes. They had a prismatic texture to them, which altered as its silent form of communication that only the female figure understood.

"_I sense something unnatural, yet familiar. It's something that..._" She answered, feeling a mixture of unease and peace.

She thought for a moment.

"_Bring me as close as you can towards the surface without bringing me outside._" She requested.

Opening its mouth, the snake allowed her to walk inside and sit down. After she settled herself, the snake closed its mouth and began to slither across the ground, continuing its journey until she sent it a command to stop.

Once she arrived at her destination, she began focusing on the strange sensation once more.

It gave her a mental image of two strange energies, both emitting a frequency she found somewhat familiar, which caught her attention... and then caused her to notice ten others giving something of a faint buzz that seemingly matched them.

"_This is... no, it shouldn't be possible. I'm all that's left of the Klaxosapiens._" She stated, showing slight confusion with a hint of joy.

The snake's eyes widened slightly, looking at her.

"_Be ready to bring me here over the course of an unspecific amount of time. Whatever this is, I must find out._" She stated.

She had yet to decide what this made her feel. Hope or despair? Joy and relief, or sorrow and rage? Whatever it was... nothing would stop her from learning what these strange yet familiar feelings were.

Including all of those savages that made up Humanity.

* * *

**And that's a wrap on Chapter 1! Besides changing some wording in a few places, and adding a few details that I recall from the anime and manga after having binged through both recently, the only major change other than the final scene (which is more of an addition) is I decided to make Naomi part of the group alongside an OC Parasite that will be her partner.**

**This was something I had considered for a FranXX fanfic before, so I decided to add her in, and it just made sense since Squad 13 had a strong relationship with her. As for my OC, otherwise known as Code 061: Orochi? He's hard to describe since his current personality is basically Mitsuru in his aloof stage, and mostly because Mitsuru and Hiro's relationship won't turn sour due to his memories being intact, so... I'll just say I chose his name for a specific reason.**

**For the additional last scene? That's something SwordOfTheGods helped me make through a suggestion, after mentioning a few things about the Klaxosaur Princess and how she might react to this. With how everyone managed to contact Zero Two in the final episode, I figured sensing just her and Hiro would be less likely to grab her attention around this time besides maybe annoying her, but since there are now twelve hybrids? That's gonna really get her attention.**

**Now, on the subject of how pairings will work in story? I'll be sticking with the canon pairings. The one difference is that, since Futoshi is partnered with Ikuno from the start, his interest in Kokoro will be transferred to her. Orochi will eventually get together with someone outside of Squad 13, and that's all I can really say about his potential love life for now.**

**Speaking of how SwordOfTheGods gave me the above suggestion? Like he said when announcing I adopted the story from the original on his profile, he and I will be bouncing a few ideas together, so he's still going to be involved with the story on some level. I'm not sure what kinds of ideas we'll come up with, but I'm getting a good feeling with how well the suggestion about the Klaxosaur Princess ended up being for the ideas I've already started planning.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


	2. The Bird with One Wing

**Here we are with Chapter 2, which will be the first of around (though I'm not 100% sure on this just yet) four chapters showing our characters developing as Parasites before they start being closer to how we know them at the beginning of the story. For right now, this chapter's main difference is I changed the chapter name for a reason that will be explained more at the end notes.**

**I can't say what other changes exist besides that aside from don't be surprised if the Klaxosaur Princess has another scene, considering what she said about sensing the existence of Hiro and the other hybrids beginning to develop. She has a big role in this story I'd like to explore through the feelings of what she could either see as mockeries of her deceased people... or the hope she never believed could exist.**

**Good news is as of this chapter, we'll start seeing some of the children developing their Klaxosapien traits and APE's reaction to seeing them. Some of our heroes will be doing the same as a result of how a few of them joined less for wanting the horns, and considering the questions they asked, it doesn't seem like they'd all just go through it without any cares or worries.**

**This chapter will also address something I know will eventually be asked, which is about how the future Squad 13's transformation into Klaxosapiens will affect the existence of the Nines in this story. For right now? I can only confirm they will eventually exist and appear, but that's all I can say until the end notes due to how this chapter will address how they'll be born compared to canon's events.**

**One last thing I'll mention before we begin? This chapter will further make Orochi a lot more... off compared to the others in his Squad, and I'll reiterate its intentional right now, as the reason for why he acts as he does won't come to light until certain interactions and events happen. Let's just say he takes over the role Zero Two has in canon in being the member of the Squad that's initially closed off.**

**Now, with all of that said? Let the chapter begin!**

* * *

**[Chapter 2 - The Bird with One Wing]**

After breakfast, there was nothing but physical tests for the to-be hybrids.

Endurance, deadlifts, stretches, sprints... anything and everything that that Dr. Franxx and his team could collect data on was tested and recorded. Kokoro's theory was they probably wanted a "before" reference of their abilities to compare with after their transformations, while Goro's was that Franxx was hoping one of them might change before his eyes.

Whatever the reason, lunch came around far too late for the Parasites, who ravenous tore into their meals. They were served separately, with the food being brought to them in a room the guards had refurbished to be a small cafeteria.

"Whoa! Guys, it's not going anywhere! You can slow down!" Hiro exclaimed, he and Zero Two watching their friends eat like they were trying to choke themselves.

"Yeah, well... I don' think they had you workin' as hard as they were pushin' us." Futoshi said, some of his words muffled by his full mouth.

"I guess not." Hiro remarked.

At that moment, he paused as Zero Two tapped his arm, making him look at her.

"Dah-rin, say _ahhh_." She smiled, holding a piece of candied ham.

"Ahhh." He smiled, allowing her to feed him.

Most of the rest of the children watched them with confusion, though Zorome was more engrossed in his food than the others.

"Seriously, why do you two do that kind of stuff? It's not regulation at all!" Miku questioned, catching the attention of the hybrids.

"We'll explain it to you after lunch, or maybe after dinner?" Hiro answered. looking uncertain.

He turned to his partner.

"Zero Two, is it ok if we share your book with them?" He asked.

"Why share book? Book special b'tween Dah-rin an' Ehro Two." She asked, looking confused.

He touched their horns together.

"I know it is, but that will tell them why we do the things we do." Hiro explained.

"OK, Ewro Two will share with Pack." Zero Two agreed, smiling after a second.

"I guess it's nice we'll get some explanation, but can we please eat before we get shuffled out for more tests?" Ikuno asked.

Mitsuru soon noticed Doctor Franxx enter the room.

"I get the feeling we won't need to worry about that today." Mitsuru assumed.

"Listen up everyone. While I would like to rerun all the tests from this morning..." Doctor Franxx began.

The Parasites all turned pale at that.

"I'm afraid the caretakers believe it will do more harm than good. As a result, you have the next few days to yourselves to let the Saurification processes get started." He said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Wahoo! We're growing horns! We're growing horns!" Zorome cheered.

"Shut up! You're so annoying!" Miku groaned.

"I am not! Not my fault you can't handle my awesomeness!" Zorome retorted.

"You can take your 'awesomeness' and shove it up your-!" She countered.

Futoshi snorted, breaking the tension that had started to form. Once the dam had broken by him? The children started laughing without a care, causing Zorome and Miku to feel the fires of embarrassment color their faces.

Both let out a slight grumble before they sank back into their seats, looking away from each other.

Luckily for them, lunch ended early, and with it went the memory of their squabble. Doctor Franxx and a couple security personnel walked the group to the Cave, opening the door for them and closing the door behind.

The room had changed slightly, now holding five double beds that filled the previous emptiness. Each bed was made, piled with the belongings of the pair expected to share it.

"I'd forgotten about that." Kokoro admitted, sending a side glance at her partner.

Mitsuru didn't respond, but their eyes met briefly before breaking the contact, fire burning through their cheeks.

"Feel great! Real warm comfy!" Zero Two chirped, pulling Hiro along by his hand as she dragged him to their bed.

"Says you... you're used to it." Ichigo muttered.

"Alright everyone, I hope you're ready for a story." Hiro smiled.

His voice carried a spark of his natural charisma, stealing the attentions of his fellow children.

"A story? What's a story got to do with anything, Hiro?" Goro questioned.

"Bear with me Goro, we'll explain afterward. " Hiro insisted.

Reaching to his right, he felt Zero Two place her book in his hand.

"Thank you, Zero Two. Do you want to read?" He offered.

"Want hear Dah-rin read." She replied, shuffling closer to Hiro as she pressed herself into his side.

Hiro barely reacted, opening the book as their fellow Parasites settled onto their beds.

_"Once upon a time, there was a flock of birds who regularly flew to the south every winter, and returned north every spring. However, one day... a nest of eggs hatched a bird unlike any other their kin had seen before. It had only a single eye, and possessed only one wing. Despite its parents' best efforts, this bird was unable to fly, and once Winter came again? Even they left it behind, forcing it to endure the cold among the leaves until Spring returned months later."_

_"The bird would eventually be left alone by his entire flock, treated like he didn't exist. Years went by as things remained unchanged for this one bird that was considered by the others to be a pitiful creature. Even the bird itself began to feel it wasn't meant to exist, and as another Winter approached, it left the flock to let its existence disappear. However, as it was about to fully vanish... it hard a crash."_

_"Looking at where it heard the sound, this bird saw the last thing it ever expected to see. Standing before it, on the ground and hurt, was another bird with a single eye and wing! Rushing over to help, this second bird showed similar surprise, and revealed that it too shared the same story as its fellow flightless bird. They had a similar story, but what was different between them was it had tried to fly one more. It had failed, and was truly ready to give up."_

_"However, the first bird that found it soon realized something... they each had one wing and eye, but not on the same side! They were even a male and female, causing it to realize that maybe alone they couldn't fly, but what if they leaned on one another and tried again? They were imperfect, pitiful creatures... yet they still wanted to fly and be like their fellow birds. Deciding to trust him, the female leaned against the male, and both began to fly one last time."_

_"They expected to fall as always, but this time? They soon saw themselves soaring through the skies! By depending on one another, they managed to finally fly, and both of their flocks soon came together to see them. Even after their flocks landed in the south, they continued to fly even further. Neither of their flocks would see them again after watching them fly off, because they would continue to fly, as the two had become inseparable."_

_"However, their two flocks came together, and soon saw more birds like them follow. Whenever they did? Rather than shun them, they would find their fellow bird, because it was clear now these birds weren't mistakes or accidents... but a sign of something no bird ever shared as strongly. A powerful concept that let their flight transcend all limits. It was what the humans they always passed by called... love."_

_"From then on, these birds were called the Jian, a pitiful and imperfect bird that alone was nothing, but when it found its partner? It truly flied, farther than any other."_

Having reached the end of the story, Hiro slowly closed the book and set it aside, then draped an arm over Zero Two's shoulders so she could snuggle deeper into him.

"Love? What's that? Does it have to do with how you two act?" Futoshi asked.

"I bet it has something to do with what happened while you were outside the compound, isn't it? Doctor Franxx said you were gone for more than a day." Ikuno assumed.

"It was. Zero Two shared this book with me when we were out there under this big mistletoe tree. It might have been the Klaxosaur blood at that time, but we just had this connection, so I swore to be her wings. Swore to be her darling." Hiro explained.

That last sentence helped explain the reason behind why Zero Two always called him darling, whatever that word meant.

"After that, she began to call me her Darling." Hiro explained.

"Ero Two be wiff Dar-in fo'ever." Zero Two smiled.

"That's so... I don't know if there's a word for it, but it's really cute!" Naomi said in response, too young to know said word was romantic.

"Yeah, well, I don't know if I could stand a week with this dunce, much less forever," Miku replied, smirking as she pointed at Zorome.

"Excuse you! I'm a freaking joy to be around!" the boy cried.

They smashed their faces together, and while Kokoro wasn't sure if it wasn't just her imagination? She swore that strands of hair were fighting each other.

"Is that how you two became so close?" Ichigo wondered, not noticing as Goro leaned toward her on their bed.

The thought caused Goro to blush, sleeping in the same bed as his childhood friend, but that was overshadowed by the way the blue-haired girl subconsciously leaned into him.

"Probably? We don't really understand it, but the Doc said something about... pheromones, I think? Some kind of special chemicals animals put out to attract them together." Hiro answered, not fully sure.

"So, these phero-things... we'll experience them too?" Futoshi asked.

"It'll probably be different for each of us, but that's why we're together. We can help each other." Mitsuru assumed.

"What is love though? The story said they represented that, but what does it mean?" Kokoro asked, still confused.

"I think when exposed to these pheromones, animals eventually find a certain kind they like and connect together like the two Jian did." Hiro guessed, unsure of its meaning.

"Well, whatever love is? I hope we can all feel it someday." Naomi smiled.

"What do you mean by _we_?" Orochi asked.

Naomi didn't say anything, unsure how to answer her partner's question.

"This is all weird, but Papa believes in us. We'll become the best squad to ever come out of the Garden!" Zorome declared, raising his finger towards the ceiling.

"That's all well and good, but 'm still tired and dirty from all those tests this morning. Think we could take a break for baths and a nap?" Ikuno replied tiredly.

"Ugh, please! I feel nasty and this moron I'm partnered with smells awful!" Miku groaned.

Zorome was about to argue, only for Miku to turn her head and give him a scary stare.

"Zorome... if you don't smell yourself right now and agree with me, I will do something you don't even want me to describe." She warned.

He went silent and sniffed himself, immediately feeling his face go a little green.

"OK, fine... I smell a _little_ rank." He relented.

Miku wanted to say it was more than a little, but didn't feel like starting another argument right now, so she held her tongue.

"Well, our next course is decided. We know where the baths are. What are we waiting for, Papa's orders?" Goro clapped, startling Ichigo.

After all, she hadn't even realized she'd been leaning on his arm.

Goro's words immediately instigated a flurry of motion in the girls, who were the first to rise and head towards the female bathroom the Garden had installed for them. Zero Two moved to join them, giving Hiro a peck on the cheek before walking off to join them.

"Later, Da~rin!" She smiled.

The guys moved to gather their stuff as well.

"Oh, Mitsuru? Mind if I talk to you for a second?" Hiro asked.

Mitsuru silently looked at Hiro as the others forged ahead.

"I wanted to tell you... that I never forgot the promise we made before you went to get the injection." He revealed.

"You... do?" Mitsuru replied with surprise.

"Yeah, but as the Doctor told us the other day... a FRANXX can only be piloted by Stamen-Pistil pairs, so I guess working side-by-side will have to do. Also, I wanted to tell you how relieved I was when I saw your picture. Doc told you how Zero Two and I were in charge of choosing you all, right?" Hiro continued.

"Yeah, he did." He confirmed.

Hiro smiled in response.

"Well, when I saw your picture as one of the options and I knew you'd survived? I was glad. Even if wasn't as intended, I could keep my promise to you." He revealed.

Mitsuru felt his throat tighten at that.

"Hiro... we thought you'd died or vanished like all the other kids. You were gone for a whole month, and... I won't lie to you, I started to resent you. Started to think I'd survived that painful injection for nothing. However, you're still here, better than ever, and dragging us along just like back then." Mitsuru admitted.

Mitsuru smiled at Hiro.

"Come on, let's hurry before they use up all the hot water." He stated.

"Thank you, and sure." Hiro replied, feeling a weight vanish from his chest.

* * *

Doctor Franxx walked to the room he communicated to APE from, opening a transmission. Unlike before, only a single screen formed, showing Papa as the member who made his appearance.

"Papa, I see it's just you and me this time." Doctor Franxx remarked.

"I felt it would be best that for matters about this squad, I alone should focus on it so the others can deal with other tasks, and then share what you've told me if I deem it necessary for all of APE to know." Papa replied.

Doctor Franxx nodded his head.

"I'm here to let you know that all of the children have taken the DNA, and none of them have had any negative reactions. By tomorrow morning, we'll see if it adapts to them or not." He revealed.

Hearing this, Papa could at least say they hadn't suffered any losses, proving it was a worthwhile risk.

"Understood. Though I must know what you plan to do if they fail to change, yet this doesn't negatively affect their potential to become Parasites?" He inquired.

"I find the chances of that low, but I believe using them as a public face for the squad would make it easier for 016 and 002 to move around." Doctor Franxx suggested.

"True, it would remove most headaches other Parasites might cause." Papa agreed.

He briefly paused before continuing.

"For now, continue observing them. Only report back when you've guaranteed the change has succeeded or failed." Papa answered.

His screen disappeared, leaving Doctor Franxx alone, standing in silence.

* * *

Miku stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

Part of it was her brown-haired partner snoring away beside her, as his arms flung out every which way, but that wasn't everything since it certainly wasn't stopping the others. Rising to a sitting position from where she'd been laying on her side, Miku scanned the room.

The Cave was dark, with moonlight filtering through the thick glass window on one side. It wasn't much, but the light was enough to see the faces of her teammates.

Hiro and Zero Two were huddled together in their bed in the corner, her back pressed into his chest with his arm draped over her. She had a content smile on her face, hugging his arm while using the other as a pillow.

Ichigo and Goro had shifted sometime over the past couple of hours, the boy on his back while Ichigo had leaned into his side.

It possibly had something to do with evolution demanding humans seek out warmth, or so they'd been taught. Neither smiled as they slept, but her head rested on his chest, slowly rising and falling with his breath.

Miku was tempted to try that with Zorome, if only because they looked comfy, but refused until she could take care of his annoying snoring.

The other two pairs slept back-to-back, sharing warmth, but not in such compromising positions. Miku would have preferred that over Zorome stretching himself over most of the bed, further annoying her over how she got the worst luck among the partner pairs.

She really had to wonder why Hiro and Zero Two had ever considered to pair them. They weren't that alike, were they? Sure, they were the same height and could be fairly loud, but he was brash, self-centered, and had sharp teeth-

'Wait a second...' She thought.

Leaning closer to him, being careful not to wake her partner and make him get the wrong idea. The last thing she wanted was to make him think she wanted to give him a kiss.

'That's never going to happen.' Miku declared.

Her hand reached out, slowly opening his mouth to show his canines, which now had tips as sharp as a lance. Miku gasped and quickly brushed over her own canines, which is when she realized they too were longer than she last remembered them to be.

Being careful to not make any sudden moves, the girl slid out of bed and padded her way toward the bathroom.

Looking at her reflection, she saw her eyes were the same, as was her body. If her nails had changed, then she just couldn't tell just yet. However, as she had expected, her teeth had definitely changed to be around maybe... 50% longer than they were after lunch? Miku realized at that moment she was starting to transform into a Klaxosaur hybrid.

"If I have the teeth, then do I also have..." She wondered.

Brushing her bangs back, she looked around until her eyes finally noticed two tiny bumps pointing out from her forehead. They were almost like the acne she'd seen on some of the older children, but they were there.

"I wonder what color they'll end up being?" Miku thought aloud.

The door slid open behind her, causing Miku to be startled as she released an instinctive hiss. The person who walked through, Ikuno, immediately jumped back as Miku let out a blush at what she did.

"Did I just... hiss at you?" She asked.

"You did." Ikuno confirmed, regaining her bearings.

"Aw man... I hope that's just a phase." Miku replied.

Ikuno soon walked over to the edge of the group bath and sat on it.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked.

"I thought you were dead asleep." Miku admitted, joining her on the rim.

"I was, but I couldn't stay that way. As warm as Futoshi is... this is still too new to properly relax. That, and Zorome snoring sounds like a booming Klaxosaur." Ikuno replied, albeit hiding the truth of her first reason.

"Don't get me started! Unlike you, I'm the one expected to sleep next to him! Just how is everyone else sleeping so soundly!?" Miku complained.

"I don't know about the others, but Futoshi was able to take he wasn't tense during the first hour. Hiro and Zero Too... likely have their little adventure in the snow to explain the ease they have with falling asleep." Ikuno assumed.

Miku nodded at the latter part, as she had no idea how they managed to stay out in the snow for so long.

"I don't know if it's the horns or what, but they just click together. It looks like Ichigo and Goro will click, too." She admitted.

"The three of us, Mitsuru, and Hiro did come from the same nursery. What about Kokoro and Mitsuru? Those two are basically opposites... Well, maybe not opposites, but they seem to be different enough that they don't seem to be comfortable around each other." Ikuno replied.

"Well, most of us did only meet each other yesterday. Though for Kokoro and Mitsuru, they both seem quiet, but for different reasons. Kokoro seems shy, whereas Mitsuru doesn't to get emotional about anything. I think they'll be fine once they spend more time together." Miku replied.

Ikuno sighed for a moment, soon letting out a small smile.

"Look at us, gossiping like some old children. About our own squad no less." She remarked.

"Or pack, as Hiro and Zero Two like to call it... whatever that word means." Miku mentioned.

Ikuno looked at her.

"Say, why did you come in here? Did your-" She asked.

Miku opened her mouth to show her new teeth to Ikuno.

"It's actually started." Ikuno said in awe.

"Same for Zorome, as I saw his teeth before I noticed my own felt different. I wonder if this will happen to everyone by tomorrow?" Miku replied.

Ikuno felt her own teeth, realizing they began to feel a little sharper.

"I think it's starting for me as well. That means it's official... we aren't normal Humans anymore." She remarked, a little afraid.

Miku noticed this.

"Are you afraid?" Miku asked.

"Yeah, just a little. While I did accept being a part of this... I think it was mainly you and Zorome who were excited about the transformation. For me, this is the scariest part of the whole thing, knowing I'll be different from everyone." Ikuno admitted.

"Yeah, but like Hiro said, we'll all be different together! Just keep that in mind, and things will..." Miku encouraged.

At that moment, a yawn forced itself out from her throat.

"Man, I'm really tired now. Tired and hungry for something sweet." She remarked.

"We'll get sugars at breakfast, so let's get some sleep while we can." Ikuno replied.

Just like that, she let out her own yawn.

"I'm sure Doctor Franxx will have us attached to wires all day tomorrow, so we'll likely need to be awake for that." Ikuno added.

Miku tiredly nodded in response.

"Yeah... anyways, it was nice talking to you Ikuno." She replied.

"You too Miku, goodnight." Ikuno replied.

Both of them walked out of the bathroom and returned to the Cave. It was oddly quiet and, for a second, she wondered if Zorome had woken up. Her thoughts were proved false when her eyes landed on his still-sleeping form now rolled onto his side

"So, that's how you stop him from snoring." She whispered to herself.

She filed that knowledge for later as she padded her way over to the bed and slipped under the covers, pushing her back against his so he couldn't roll onto his back again.

There, with the quiet breathing of her fellow Children, Miku drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Everyone in the Pack was currently asleep, with the exception of Zorome who just woke up. He stretched out his arms, then licked around his mouth... which is when he felt something.

"Huh?" He blinked.

Licking around again, he felt the difference in his teeth, and once he did?

"**Yahoo!**" He cheered.

"Ah!" Everyone screamed.

Everyone was startled from their slumber, with others simply flailing in response that gave him some superficial bruising, the worst being Ichigo, Goro, and Miku.

Zorome had thrown his partner off the bed, while Ichigo and Goro ended up face to face and pushed each other in opposite directions past the limits of their bed.

"What the hell! The floor is cold, and why are you being so freaking loud!?" She shouted, grabbing by his collar.

"Yeah! I almost smacked Ikuno because you shocked us!" Futoshi agreed.

"Five mo' minas..." Zero Two mumbled, squeezing Hiro's arm with an annoyed look on their fist.

Hiro sweated as he saw that.

"You are still asleep Zero Two, ignore anything that's telling you to wake up." He whispered.

"Darin cwomfy. No wake." She relaxed, brushing off her waking.

Hiro sighed in relief.

"You're lucky Zero Two is a deep sleeper. Now, what's got you so excited, Zorome?" Hiro inquired, glaring at him.

"I've got horns!" Zorome revealed, drawing his bangs back to reveal the tiny bumps protruding from his forehead.

"Those aren't horns yet, and certainly not worth waking us up!" Ichigo growled, glaring at Zorome.

"Ichigo is right. If we are all sleeping in the same room, we need some guidelines about how we act around each other. At least in the mornings." Mitsuru agreed.

"Yeah, yeah... though I'm still the first one to change!" Zorome smirked.

"You are not! Ikuno and I found our changes last night when your snoring woke us up!" Miku disproved.

"I do _not_ snore!" Zorome retorted.

"You do too!" Everyone screamed, sans Zorome and Zero Two.

Unfortunately, that made Zero Two angrily open her eyes.

"Why Ero Two wake now!?" She growled.

Everyone felt shivers go down their spines as they stiffly turned, her irises emitting a red glow that was terrifying, even in her morning haze.

"Calm down Zero Two, just go back to sleep. I'm here." Hiro whispered.

Luckily, she was tired enough that she immediately wobbled and went back to sleep, curling around Hiro's arm before nuzzling into it and drifted back into the land of dreams.

"Cwomfy Da-rin." She mumbled in her sleep.

Hiro sighed in relief.

"Listen well everyone... no matter what, do _not_ wake Zero Two before she does so on her own." He warned.

"Is she really that bad?" Kokoro asked.

"You have no idea," Hiro answered.

While he knew Zero Two wasn't a monster, something he'd sweat until the end of his life, but she was good at resembling one if she didn't wake up on her own terms.

That was a lesson he'd beat into every other to-be hybrid if need be, if just to spare them all from her wrath. Luckily, her little glow scare seemed to give them the message.

"Say, how are the changes settling in?" He asked.

"Pretty good so far. It's only our teeth and the budding of our horns right now, at least for me, Ikuno, and Zorome, but that's what you told us to expect.

"I think I can taste the changes, and it's a weird feeling." Goro answered, an unsure expression on his face.

"I agree with Goro." Mitsuru nodded, prodding his sharpened canines.

"We should let Doctor Franxx know, as I'm sure he'll want to know things are all good so far." Ichigo suggested.

Hiro nodded in agreement.

* * *

When the news had reached Doctor Franxx? He was ecstatic to hear most of the Parasites were already starting to change, eagerly studying each of the children. Miku got her wish of a nap, being allowed to sleep as Mitsuru laid wide awake besides her.

Both were linked to the nodes of various machines, so the doctor could see if the changes moved faster or slower based on several factors, including gender and if one was awake or asleep. The rest of the children were inspecting their faces in the mirrors the doctor provided, getting use to their sharp smiles while they tried adjusting their hair for when horns fully developed.

Hiro and Zero Two, long since use to their features, sat on their bed reading. Well, Zero Two was reading aloud, as Hiro was helping her develop her verbal communication.

"Da... Daaaal...Daaarli... Daaaarliiin. Daaarling. Darling?" Zero Two said, until she said it right.

"That's it, Zero Two. Darling." Hiro praised.

She smiled upon hearing she said it right.

"Daarling. Darling! Darling best!" She cheered.

Ichigo sadly watched this, trying to be quiet as the two began their telepathic communication and smiled at each other.

"They really are perfect for each other..." Ichigo realized, a sad look on her face.

Goro sat beside her, unsure of his emotions. It pained him to see Ichigo so down, knowing how she always followed Hiro, but at the same time? There was this questionable sense of guilty happiness bubbling from his gut.

"From what they've told us, Zero Two has always been alone. It makes sense she would attach herself to the first person to be nice to her. Not only that, but Hiro seems the type to care for the person who needs it most." Kokoro noted.

She was currently alone on her bed, since Mitsuru had taken Zorome's place as the awake subject.

"Sounds tiring to me. Like, I get that she needed help, but we don't know anything about that." Futoshi remarked, gnawing on some bread slathered with honey.

He was on sitting on Zorome and Miku's bed with the former, while Ikuno was napping on their bed.

"Yet here we are." Goro sighed.

It was boring, waiting for the changes to happen so the pace of their lives could move past all the repetitive tests.

"We'll be great! We'll train hard, and Papa will put us out in the field where he'll see us, and be proud!" Zorome cheered.

"Yeah, well... for now? Let's just survive growing up before we get into a FRANXX. alright?" Hiro suggested.

Zero Two soon hopped near everyone.

"Zero Two want get know Pack! Tell Zero Two about you!" She requested excitedly.

Zorome jumped at the chance.

"I'll start!" Zorome offered.

And with that? He launched into a dramatic, completely untrue tale that wasted the morning.

The one bright side was that Zero Two learned some new words to practice.

* * *

Once the morning tests were finished for everyone, Doctor Franxx stood before the screen showing Papa's face, with the results he gained from each member of the Squad.

"So, while not all of them have fully developed... you can verify that all of the children have successfully integrated the Klaxosaur DNA into their bodies?" Papa asked.

"That I can. From what I can conclude, the rates of transformation aren't that different from how the body changes during puberty, that is... if you only accounted for just the physical changes that occur." Doctor Franxx answered.

Papa said nothing for a bit, wondering how they could be so similar, but Klaxosaurs were already too much of an enigma to begin with.

"I assume that should mean they will develop to the same level as 002 and 016 by the end of the month, correct?" Papa inquired.

Doctor Franxx silently nodded in response.

"Then keep monitoring them, and monitor how similar or different they develop. Their future FRANXX will need to completely suit their individual developments if we wish for the results that we're expecting. In the meantime, we'll make sure to gather the resources to make these special FRANXX when you can finally start building them." He continued.

"Understood." Doctor Franxx replied.

Papa's screen disappeared, and that's when the Doctor sighed as he prepared himself to play the waiting game.

* * *

**_~ One Month Later: The Cave_**

Like before, the mysterious blue-skinned girl was led to the same location by her snake, monitoring the strange frequency that had been bothering her. She had been doing this for an entire month without any making any progress.

However, when she came today? She felt something different. No longer was her telepathy struggling to hear an unclear buzzing, as whatever noise held it back... was gone.

"_I feel it, these are pheromones. The kind of pheromones that can only be released by... by Klaxosapiens!_" She exclaimed with widen eyes.

The snake showed surprise, whereas this girl's face showed not just surprise... but a slight sign of disgust. While there was still too much she had yet to understand, because of how far away she was, the one thing that was clear was these pheromones were somewhere that angered her greatly.

"_Humans... these pheromones are gathered within one of their creations, and there's multiple sources of it. Not only that, but for their rates of growth to be like this, not even somehow finding the remains of a Klaxosapien among us would be enough to guarantee the creation of this many sources without developing any anomalies._" She stated.

The snake's eyes glowed, as if inquiring what made this so strange compared to her original thoughts.

"_Because no source can be used more than once. Even if the first success had their DNA spread to others, there's no way they would successfully develop at the same level, not for a normal Klaxosapien's DNA-_" She answered.

Having spoken her thoughts, she suddenly paused as if realizing something from her own answer.

Then she recalled a certain memory... a time where she bit off the arm of a human man she had chosen to spare. Realizing that, her eyes glowed in the same way Zero Two's had when nearly woken by everyone's yelling.

"_How did I never consider what his arm may have done before I tore it off, especially since he took it back with him? The DNA he's using is that of my own!_" She realized.

She turned to the Snake Klaxosaur, which felt somewhat nervous from her current gaze.

"_When night falls, bring me to the place I call this man to. I can't ignore him any longer._" She ordered, showing his image both in the past and the present.

The snake had no idea what her plans were, but she was clearly angry.

* * *

Doctor Franxx stood before Papa, who looked at the most recent results of the Klaxosaur hybrids and the newest images of their appearances.

"From what I can see here, it looks like 016's transformation seemed to be a peak, or at least a main stage in development. Are there any thoughts you have about this?" Papa inquired.

"Not at this point of time. More than likely, this is as far as the transformation goes, using the shift from Zero Two's original appearance as an example." The Doctor replied.

Looking over the data again, and then back at Doctor Franxx, Papa continued.

"Then if I may ask, do you have any recent samples of their DNA from a recent test or health checkup?" Papa asked.

"I did take samples of their hair for analysis, so yes. Though is there any particular reason you ask?" Doctor Franxx answered.

"There is. Despite our choice to abandon it, we have enough to make one batch of clones. I've decided that due to 002's unique nature, we should try using the DNA from her and the other hybrids as their source. If we have any successful results from this? Then we could have the squad of clones' skills look like the result of a test." Papa explained.

Doctor Franxx soon understood his logic.

"I see. Having two squads with similar levels of strength could help make older Parasites believe we've learned how to make newer Parasites stronger." Doctor Franxx realized.

"That's correct. Once you finish your analysis, make sure to send word you're shipping the DNA over." Papa replied.

Papa was about to disconnect, but before he could?

"Oh, that's right! Before I forget, there was something that I wanted to ask about, if you don't mind. It's partially related to the squad's future development." Doctor Franxx mentioned.

Papa let out a sigh, but decided to listen.

"Make it quick." He ordered.

"Right." Doctor Franxx replied.

He took a moment to clear his throat.

"While I don't know the entire squad's feelings on the matter, I've noticed that Code 666 has incredible faith in believing the adults have strong belief in their capabilities. It may be beneficial to promote this by giving them caretakers as a way to promote his faith is right and inspire the others to do better?" He explained.

"Have caretakers who will praise them... yes, that would do well. Though I doubt we can afford any-" Papa replied.

He paused for a moment.

"Wait, I think there's something close we can use in place of adult. Code 007 and 008 have recently lost their partners in battle, and after we suppress 007's memories of her partner, and we were considering pruning them because they couldn't partner up. Why don't we transfer them over as adults to do this and help limit rumors?" Papa offered.

Doctor Franxx recalled those two and how they were incredible due to being among the rare single-digit Parasites.

Their knowledge of battle was also great due to how long each had been a Parasite, which almost made it seem like fate had wanted them to become part of this Squad.

"They seem acceptable. Feel free to send them over when you have the chance to, though I ask you avoid tampering with 007's memory just yet. They do have the right to choose to risk pruning if they'd rather continue their fight." He accepted.

"Unusual, but I guess not that's an impossible choice either of them could make. I'll have them here by tomorrow." Papa replied.

His screen disappeared, briefly leaving the Doctor alone before he headed out, but before he even made it to the door...

"_Stop where you are, and listen._"

He froze, feeling his left arm begin to shake. It was then that something under it began to glow. He quickly moved it, and it was soon revealed to be mechanical, housing a spiral inside a blue cylinder.

"_I know you recognize me, so cease your silence._" She ordered.

"This voice, is it really...?" He asked, shaking as he did.

While to most he might seem afraid? If anyone looked closer, and see his mouth... they would see a smile that revealed he was absolutely euphoric!

"_I order you to meet with me tonight at this location. If you do not come, or bring violence upon that area... I will have the Klaxosaurs around that location destroy everything and everyone inside. Even if you listen... know that I may not spare your life a second time._" She warned.

The image of the location soon went into his mind.

He had no idea what possessed her to use the fragment of her hair to speak to him, but threat or not? Doctor Franxx wasn't going to pass up this opportunity.

* * *

As night fell, Doctor Franxx found himself in the location in question, which was a barren area within the snowy wasteland where Hiro and Zero Two were found.

"I'm surprised she chose this area of all places." He remarked, looking around.

"_And I'm surprise on how well you listened to my conditions for your arrival._" She answered.

Jumping through the air, the sight of the snake Klaxosaur was seen as it launched towards him, though slowly descended to the ground before its head opened up. As it did, Doctor Franxx felt his eyes widen.

Standing before him was the same beauty he had seen nearly a century ago. Flowing sky blue-white hair, prominent blue eyes with glowing blue pupils (though dimly compared to when she was angered, he knew), dark lines under her eyes and acting as a crown of sorts that house the horns on her forehead and the area opposite to it on the back, and the eight appendages on her backside that resembled sharp tendrils.

There was no doubt about it... she was indeed the same Princess of the Klaxosaurs, or in her case? The Klaxosapiens they once were. However, he also knew her as Code 001.

"_Let me remind you that meeting me here does not guarantee the survival of your life. As such, if you are unable to give me enough of a reason to spare your life... this place is where it will end._" The Princess warned.

Doctor Franxx said nothing, and just nodded his head in response.

"While I already have an idea of what you came here to talk to me about, there's a long list of what you've likely realized. Though for you to act now... either I've crossed too many lines for you to ignore, or there was only one line I finally did." He asked.

"_That arm should tell you enough... as should the dozen traces of Klaxosapiens that I've managed to notice the frequency of this past month._" 001 answered.

Those words confirmed his suspicions.

"Of course, the hybrids." Doctor Franxx realized.

"_Hybrids?_" She replied, feeling her anger rising.

Once again, her eyes glowed with the brightness that signified she was enraged.

"_My people lost themselves, becoming the Klaxosaurs you slaughter and make into your little toys! For you to go as far as to steal my own genetic code for your own reasons? I've questioned how far all of Humanity would go after you began to take the magma energy we left within our world... and now I know!_" 001 exclaimed.

The Klaxosaur Princess motioned her tendrils as if they were spears.

"_I should just kill you right now!_" 001 shouted.

She prepared to do that, with Doctor Franxx doing nothing to move.

"_Strange... do you not fear your end, or are you simply accepting the sins you must atone for?_" She questioned.

He didn't answer, just standing there, like when they first met. Her eyes trailed to her hair within his fake arm.

'_No, perhaps you believe this story is better told through what you made through me and that meeting._' 001 wondered, focusing on it.

Her powers reacted to the arm, and then... she saw it.

**[Darling in the FRANXX: Vita]**

The days of Zero Two's birth, a child sharing her DNA. While that did slightly anger her... even she couldn't blame her for how she was born at such a time. If anything, this made 001 all the more surprised once she began seeing her days of torturous experiments.

Because she was technically a Klaxosapien at some level, the sight was enough to infuriate her, leaving her ready to kill Doctor Franxx... until the day she saw Hiro chose to help her. It was this one moment that suddenly silenced the Klaxosaur Princess' rage.

'_This is..._' She thought, making herself appear within the memory to get a more direct sight of things.

Watching them run away, and floating after them, seeing all the various memories they shared. Zero Two gaining her name, the candy Hiro shared with her, and how... happy it made her.

**[Darling in the FRANXX: Red Hibiscus]**

The biggest surprise was when Hiro fell as his transformation into a Klaxosapien, and... she chose to stay despite it got her caught alongside him.

'_She chose to stay, but why?_' 001 questioned.

"Dah-ling!" Zero Two cried out.

That one moment caused her to see them later, cuddling normally as if the last few events were just a nightmare, despite 001 could tell every prior moment had been real.

"Dah-ling..." She said, this time happily.

'_Did this boy, a Human... actually manage to bond with this young Klaxosapien girl?_' 001 wondered.

It was then the biggest part came.

She saw the other ten children being offered to become hybrids.

'_They weren't forced... they had a choice, is this..._' She realized.

Her eyes closed.

"_How long had it been since I could recall what we used to be, even for me? We believed by abandoning our ties, and embracing solitude, we could perfect ourselves and then become stronger. However, perhaps there are times one can only shine when in unison with another._" 001 realized.

She then looked at Hiro once more.

"_And perhaps it's much more than just a bond between others. If this is what the unity between a Human and my DNA can create, then perhaps maybe... just maybe, these children are hope for much more than just being a second chance for my kind._" 001 stated, making a decision she never thought possible.

Removing her connection, Doctor Franxx noticed her pull away.

"_Let me make this clear. I will always hate you, but... those children? They remind me of who I once was. A version of myself that I was forced to abandon. Whatever reason you used to make them into Klaxosapiens, I feel they can help the two of us save this world from our real enemies._" 001 stated, somewhat reluctantly.

"What are you saying?" Doctor Franxx asked, understandably confused.

"_If you are willing to make up for your actions... we shall work together, under the terms I give you. Consider it the closest you'll ever get to satisfying whatever odd allure you seem to have for me._" The Klaxosaur Princess answered.

That surprised him.

"_We shall talk again, soon._" 001 answered, jumping back inside the Klaxosaur Snake as it closed its mouth.

With that, the snake returned to where it came from, leaving only Doctor Franxx to know of its presence.

**[Insert Song End]**

As he stood there, the Doctor began thinking to himself. When he had first met the Klaxosaur Princess, he was certain that he had no longer been human from how he reacted to the moment she ripped off his arm. This meeting was the exact opposite.

"Did she ask me... for help?" He questioned, surprised by what she just said.

Deep down, he had all but given up on undoing his past mistakes, but could he finally do so now? Not to mention, doing it while serving the creature he saw as a Goddess? Maybe it wasn't too late for this world to go back to the way it was.

For both the time of Humanity, and the time before it, when 001's kind was still alive.

* * *

Back in the Cave, the sight of Hiro and Zero Two squinting their eyes and looking uncomfortable could be seen, as if something was making it hard for them to sleep. As such, it was no surprise when both of them opened their eyes.

"Darling no can sleep either?" Zero Two asked, showing how well her vocabulary had developed.

"Yeah, it's like there's just this weird feeling in the air. It's keeping me from getting to sleep." Hiro replied.

"Guess it isn't just us then." Goro replied.

Hiro and Zero Two turned to see the rest of the Pack was awake in the same manner.

In the month since their transformation began, their horns had developed enough for their individual colors to form, and confirmed they weren't all just red for girls and blue for boys.

Ichigo and Miku's were closest, with theirs being light blue and pink respectively. The horn colors for the others were brown for Goro, orange for Zorome, white for Mitsuru, green for Kokoro, gray for Futoshi, purple for Ikuno, black for Orochi, and yellow for Naomi.

"Really? You feel the same thing keeping you awake?" Hiro asked.

"Yeah, seems like it..." Naomi replied, letting out a tired yawn afterwards.

Ichigo soon looked at the stars, feeling something grab her attention as she walked towards the window. This quickly got everyone's attention.

"Ichigo?" Ikuno said worriedly.

The blue-horned girl looked across the starry sky.

"For some reason, it feels like there's something calling us out there." She said.

"What do you mean?" Miku asked.

"How should I put this... it's like a voice is trying to comfort us, but that's all I can really say about it." Ichigo answered.

Not even Hiro or Zero Two really understood what she was saying, but her words made them curious. They all got closer as well.

The moment they did, all of them felt a shared comfort.

"_Be strong._" 001 encouraged them, albeit just barely.

Hearing those words, all twelve members of the Pack suddenly became tired, making them fall asleep on the floor without any warning, in their respective pairs. They would wake up the next day, having forgotten the words they heard.

However, 001's message would echo through their subconscious as their motivation from then on.

And as the Princess herself returned home, she looked behind her, saying one last thing to herself.

"_I'm putting my faith in you... don't let me down._" The Klaxosaur Princess said, feeling somewhat hopeful.

* * *

**That's it for Chapter 2, and boy was there a lot! First of all, the children have finally developed their Klaxosaur traits to the same level as Hiro has, and that managed to help the Klaxosaur Princess realize what was going on to the point she confronted Doctor Franxx in person. On the upside? This has let her see our heroes enough that she's (albeit reluctantly) teaming up with him for Earth's sake.**

**How their team up will work? I'll leave that up to you, since doing so means it's hard to tell who has more to any influence in certain areas or decisions. The one thing I can say is that the whole partnership is basically a Master/Servant relationship. I will say that while she can't directly interact with Squad 13 as a result of what she is and the fire she'd start by getting close to them, it wouldn't be wrong to say she'll indirectly end up being a motherly figure to them.**

**Anyways, as you can see? Instead of the Beast and the Prince, the book Zero Two got is based on the Jian itself, which I felt fit better due to how this story doesn't have her and Hiro getting separated. That book still exists, but it will end up in her possession later on and influence her for different reasons, so for now? Just know the Jian representation is stronger in this story than it is in canon, mainly to fit that reference to a flock in the opening scene of Chapter 1.**

**Then we have a glimpse at the development of Nines, who in this story are clones of not just Zero Two, but each Squad 13 member. This idea came to me because, while it might just be from my perspective? Alpha looks kind of like Hiro somewhat. While the group will have their total expanded to a total of 12 members, they'll still be called the Nines for reasons that I'll reveal later on.**

**Now, the last thing I'll say before we end this chapter is this is where the children's time as... I'm not completely sure, so let's just say they're toddlers, will come to an end. Chapter 3 will be the first stage of them at a different period in their eventual path to becoming Parasites and beyond. Likewise, despite the mention of them in this chapter, Nana and Hachi won't officially show until they're older, so everyone's first meeting with them is another important event.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


	3. Moving Day

**Here we are with Chapter 3, and to quote what SwordOfTheGods said in his most recent review? _From here on in, this is new territory._ So, for all the veteran readers here... get ready to see where this new territory leads! Like I said at the end notes of the previous chapter, things are going to speed up as we show the kids developing and getting older, though you might be surprised how it happens here.**

**Something I need to bring up real quick is I managed to find a timeline of events, and have since realized how old everyone is, including when Zero Two and Hiro ran away together. Thing is it implies Zero Two is a lot older than the others by an unspecified amount of years. As a result, this story will actually treat everyone like they were toddlers in the first two chapters, in the rare view they're kindergarten age, since the kids were living in a place called the garden.**

**It seems everyone really enjoyed the twist from last chapter, with how the Klaxosaur Princess and Doctor Franxx are now unlikely allies fighting to protect Earth from this unknown enemy. Now, before anyone asks me about why I say unknown, it's because the manga. The Princess mentions she doesn't know who or what her people had been fighting against before Humanity, so it's possible there will be a different final enemy in that version.**

**This story's final enemy will depend on what the manga has or hasn't revealed by the time we get to the battle for the Grand Crevasse, provided the manga has a different enemy than the anime. If nothing's known by then, then the story will mainly follow the anime's path from there. That's the only unknown for right now, since it matters on the timing of when the story reaches that battle.**

**Anyways, before we actually get to the chapter itself? Just be aware things might seem a little mix-matched or out of place, mainly because of how we don't have much info on how the Parasites live between their time at the garden to before they become official users of FRANXX robots to fight Klaxosaurs. It may stay like this until we actually get to the actual battles, but I wouldn't worry too much, since it might just be this chapter, due to some events and reveals.**

**That's all for now, so let's begin!**

* * *

**[Chapter 3 - Moving Day]**

Doctor Franxx could be seen as he rode through the forest in a FRANXX training model, which was able to be ridden by a single rider instead of a Stamen-Pistil pair.

It would be abnormal for him to normally travel in one of these, especially within the nearly untraversable darkness of the night, however... 001 had insisted that he come to a certain location sooner than later.

"Is there any particular reason for this? I don't want to risk Papa getting wind of what I'm doing." He inquired.

"_Don't talk to me about risks, consider how dangerous it was for me to leave the Grand Crevasse._" The Princess retorted.

Doctor Franxx conceded to that, and continued riding.

"_Besides... if we don't do this now, when APE will likely focus on the fluctuation my absence has caused, then we may never get another chance. I'm certain if I left the Grand Crevasse again, those wannabes would be able to realize what I've done and connect too many dots._" 001 continued.

Doctor Franxx said nothing, since it was clear to him that after having no hope for her kind for millions of years, the thought of losing the small bit the children had given her was more terrifying than anything else.

"_Since I don't know how long it may take for you to arrive and for them to finish, try keeping an eye out for what you call Conrad-Class Klaxosaurs._" She mentioned.

"Hmm?" Doctor Franxx replied, looking confused.

The Klaxosaur Princess said nothing, which he assumed was her way of tormenting him for some personal entertainment. As such, he had to continue heading towards the unknown destination without knowing where it is or why Klaxosaurs were there.

*"CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!"*

Stopping for a moment, Doctor Franxx noticed Klaxosaurs around the same size as the training unit. As they noticed him, a few began nearing him as a threat, until...

"_He is not our enemy; he is the one I told you all of. Let him follow you._" 001 stated, speaking through his arm.

Hearing their ruler's voice, the Klaxosaurs stopped and turned to rejoin their swarm. Doctor Franxx slowly followed, and once he got close enough?

Well, the fact he gasped said plenty at the sight before him.

* * *

**_~ Three Years Later: The Cave_**

All of the Klaxosapien hybrids were seen playing together, bouncing a ball towards each other, with the exception of a currently absent Orochi.

For some reason, they currently looked more like they did before becoming hybrids, as if they had never become part Klaxosaur. This was even true for Zero Two, who was the only member of the pack to be born as a hybrid.

"I got it! I got!" Zero Two shouted, walking backwards as she prepared to hit the ball.

A door opened up, causing Orochi and Doctor Franxx to walk through, leading the former and Zero Two to bump into each other and fall on the ground. Doctor Franxx stared at the sight until the ball lightly bounced off his chest.

"Ow..." Zero Two mumbled, rubbing the back of her head in response.

"That was unfortunate timing. Are you two alright?" Doctor Franxx asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK." She replied.

Orochi tapped Zero Two's shoulder, causing Zero Two to see she had landed on him, making her get up as she blushed in embarrassment. Unlike the others, Orochi's black horns and markings were still present on his form.

"061, your horns are still showing." Doctor Franxx mentioned, pointing at his head.

"Yeah, yeah." Orochi replied.

At that moment, he took a strange bracelet off his wrist, one that could be seen on the rest of the hybrids, that quickly took the shape of a headband. He placed it on in a way that touched and latched onto his horns.

Once it had, it emitted a glow that caused his horns to shrink back to the size of nubs, causing his appearance to look more human like the rest of the pack.

"Speaking of which... have any of you had any problems with those suppression bands?" Doctor Franxx inquired.

"No, we're all perfectly fine." Hiro answered.

"That's good to hear." Doctor Franxx replied.

About two years after forming his partnership with the Klaxosaur Princess, one of their talks had her mention how Zero Two initially looked like a red version of a pureblooded Klaxosapien. That had him look at the DNA of Zero Two in an attempt to find answers. During this process, he was somehow able to make a breakthrough. She had been unable to find attachment in her Human DNA because the experiments made her feel like nothing but a monster. After 016 found her, it was the kindness he showed her that finally unearthed the Humanity she didn't realize she had, causing her form to finally be a true hybrid when before she had been mostly a Klaxosapien.

Recalling his suggestion to Papa of how some of the Squad could be public faces in the event some of them didn't change, but were still able to become Parasites, he decided to see if they could appear more Human to travel in public without issue. It worked, but... their Klaxosapien DNA had a stronger imprint on their bodies, and so he created the headbands to suppress it when appearing more Human, and they were currently in these forms as part of training their biology.

It was also possible for them to take a form with their Klaxosapien DNA being stronger, but when Zero Two tried that... he quickly found out that caused her to become much more aggressive, and made sure the Pack knew that he didn't want them to use it unless he could find a good reason for it, but even then? He would only want them to use it as an absolute last resort, and nothing else.

"So, Orochi, how did your examination go?" Naomi asked, trying to start a conversation.

He didn't answer, walking by her as he grabbed a book. She sighed as she watched this.

"Everyone, if I may have your attention?" Doctor Franxx announced, tapping his staff on the ground.

The young hybrids all looked at him.

"What is it Doctor Franxx?" Goro asked.

"Recently, I've begun to notice that it's getting somewhat cramped for you to live in here, and I'm not sure the Klaxosaur side of your DNA will be comfortable being in such an enclosed space for much longer. As such, I believe it's time I move you into a new home." He revealed.

Hearing that, everyone showed surprise, with even Orochi putting his book down.

"We're... leaving the Cave?" Zero Two asked.

She had some bad memories of this place, but it was also where she met Hiro, met her Darling... so it was special to her. It didn't make her feel very good to just leave out of nowhere.

"Correct, but I have a feeling where I'll be taking you to should be to your liking." Doctor Franxx confirmed.

Zero Two tilted her head, wondering what kind of place would be enough for her to leave the Cave so willingly.

* * *

Traversing through unknown terrain as they sat in their ride, Doctor Franxx and the Pack sat for an unspecified amount of time before they finally reached their destination. Once they arrived, the future Parasites were brought outside to see their new home.

It was a large white building with designs that resembled both a bird, and the nests most birds made using branches and twigs.

"What is this place?" Miku asked.

"This is the Bird Nest, a special building where many children begin their Parasite training once they're of the right age. While all of you are here early, the nature of the Pack is still not ready to become public knowledge, so it seemed best to bring you now. Also, your actual home is in a special residential area we've made here." Doctor Franxx explained.

He walked towards the building, briefly stopping as he motioned the children to follow him, which they did a few seconds after Doctor Franxx made his gesture.

As they walked inside, various Parasites in-training as caretakers looked their way as they saw the children walking by with Doctor Franxx, which was the main reason none of them bothered to make any comments beyond their mind.

Seeing their looks, Zero Two grabbed Hiro's arm tightly, feeling afraid of their looks.

"Don't be afraid, I think they're just curious about why children our age are here, rather than the Garden." He reassured her, whispering into her ear.

"A-Are you sure, darling?" Zero Two asked.

"Yeah, just relax and hold onto me if it helps." Hiro promised, resting his cheek against hers.

Feeling his touch, Zero Two began to relax and wrapped her hand around his.

They quickly left the view of the future Parasites, and were brought to an elevator, riding it up to what was likely their new home. When the doors finally opened, all of the Pack was left amazed at what they saw.

It was a huge dome, containing a sizable forest and a few lakes, along with a few animals native to each. In the middle of it all, there was a three-story boarding house.

"Holy... uh, whatever's after holy!" Zorome exclaimed.

"Welcome to Mistilteinn, a unique residential area we based off the outside world as it was long before our war with the Klaxosaurs began." Doctor Franxx revealed.

Everyone began looking around, while Hiro felt Zero Two pull him away in excitement.

"Hiro, is this what it was like when you and Zero-" Ichigo asked, looking towards him.

However, she soon realized Zero Two had already pulled him near a tree, where a bird had perched itself. Whatever the bird was doing, Ichigo could only tell it had something to do with its beak and wing.

"Darling, look! It's a real bird! Does that mean we'll find a Jian here?" Zero Two exclaimed, nearly bouncing on her feet.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we might, but I don't know if these live in this kind of environment." Hiro answered, unaware the Jian was a mythical creature.

A fish soon jumped out of the lake.

"Look, a fish!" She shouted.

Doctor Franxx noticed her movements, causing his eyes to wide.

"Wait, no! Don't jump into the-!" He shouted, trying to stop her.

*"SPLASH!"*

Too late, she was already soaked from head to toe, not looking as happy over being soaking wet while her clothes were still on.

"Water..." Doctor Franxx sighed.

"D-Darling... I t-thought water was always... w-warm?" Zero Two asked, shivering in place.

"If it's in a bath, then it is, because it's heated. Most water's usually like the snow, but not as bad." Hiro explained.

He reached out and pulled her out.

"I'll go ask the staff to bring you some spare clothes. In the meantime, go grab some towels and help her dry off. The bathroom is to the right of the stairway." Doctor Franxx suggested.

"Alright." Hiro replied.

"H-Hurry, Darling... stop the c-cold!" Zero two whined, feeling like an ice cube.

He wasted no time and led her inside, with everyone looking around the new home.

"I wonder why our new home is like this?" Futoshi asked.

"Well, Klaxosaurs are always outside, so more than likely giving us an environment that simulates it will likely be more positive for our development." Goro assumed.

Naomi put her hand on the ground. When she did, a strange yet warm feeling flowed through her skin.

"I think you're right. Standing in this place seems to make me feel... like I'm safe." She said with a smile.

As this was happening, Kokoro noticed something.

* * *

From a different room in the Bird Nest, two new figures could be see watching from a screen that was monitoring the children's movements in Mistilteinn.

The first of the duo was a young girl with wavy, shoulder length brownish-red hair and teal green eyes, wearing a uniform that was a mix of Parasite uniforms and caretaker uniforms that showed she was in-training to become the latter. She was Nana, the ex-Parasite formerly known as Code 007.

Beside her was a young man with brown eyes and dark blue hair that reached chin length, having a facial expression that seemed stuck in something of a deadpan look. Like the girl beside him, he was also wearing a caretaker in-training outfit, only his was the male equivalent. He was Hachi, the ex-Parasite known as Code 008.

As they looked at the screen, a smaller screen currently showed feed of Doctor Franxx.

"I take it all of the children haven't gone wild since I left?" Doctor Franxx inquired.

"Right now, most of them seem to be staying outside and letting curiosity guide them around, but it seems harmless enough." Hachi replied.

"Though that leaves the question... what are we supposed to do if something happens and they need help? You did tell us they won't be directly meeting us until they turn 10, and we still have another year before that happens." Nana inquired.

"Just let me know if that happens. I'm currently responsible for them since this Squad was my idea, and I'll handle any problems that come up." Doctor Franxx replied.

"Even if it's-" Nana asked, sweating slightly.

"Yes, that includes puberty." He confirmed.

Hachi was quick to notice Nana seemed to be glaring at him slightly, and he couldn't blame her for giving him such a look.

No girl liked having their butt randomly groped by an old man.

"Anyways, I need to meet with you-know-who, so keep me updated. Only directly contact me if there's an emergency." Doctor Franxx replied.

His screen disappeared from view, and the two future caretakers looked at each other.

"Does he make you feel like pruning was a better option for us?" She inquired, a worried expression on her face.

"I'd need to actually see one before I could give a proper answer, and I doubt we'd want to." Hachi answered.

Nana paled at that, silently nodding in agreement.

* * *

Kokoro soon found herself in a small greenhouse, which currently didn't have any flowers, being filled by just by normal non-forest greenery. Taking a moment to look around, she saw a few empty flowerpots scattered across the room and little else.

"I wonder what this is?" Mitsuru wondered aloud.

Kokoro let out a small shout and jumped around at the source of the voice, seeing Mitsuru standing behind her.

"Sorry about that. I didn't scare you too badly, did I?" Mitsuru apologized.

"Not that much. I just didn't think anyone was following me, that's all." Kokoro replied.

Her attention returned to the plants.

"Though I am curious to what this is as well, and why there are plants here that we don't see outside of it?" She agreed.

Knowing they wouldn't find any answers on their own, both of them walked around to try and find anything that was hidden.

*"THUD!"*

Both of them looked near where Kokoro was standing.

A pot had fallen on its side, making it to spill some packets, a book, and a letter on the ground. Kokoro kneeled down to pick up the former two, while Mitsuru picked up the letter to see it was written by Doctor Franxx.

"These look like the packets of honey and sugar we use, but bigger." Kokoro remarked, feeling the packets.

"Looks like Doctor Franxx has an answer to what this place is." Mitsuru replied, show her the letter.

Kokoro stood beside him as he opened it.

_"To whoever finds and reads this letter, you are in what we call a Greenhouse, and those enlarged honey packets as you've likely called them contain seeds for flowers. Feel free to plant them in the pots that have been placed all around. Oh, but make sure you save one packet for each type of flower, and avoid using six pots until I leave you a second letter here in the future. It will make sense later on, but for now? Just get acquainted with flowers and their visual language in the book I've left with you."_

Kokoro looked at the book, opening it to see a flower known as... well, she didn't know the first word of its name was, but she was familiar with orchids. As she kept reading, she let out a gasp that caught Mitsuru's attention.

"What is it?" He asked.

"According this page, there's a kind of orchid that means... alluring, I think? It's like each flower means something." Kokoro answered.

That caught Mitsuru's attention.

"It that what this letter meant about a flower's visual language?" He wondered aloud.

"Most likely. Even though only Hiro and Zero Two are still the only ones comfortable to do it, we're able to convey things through our horns. Maybe if you group certain flowers together, it lets you say something without words in a similar way?" She guessed.

"Maybe we should find out?" Mitsuru suggested.

That surprised Kokoro slightly, making him blink.

"What? Did I say something weird?" He asked.

"No, I'm just a little surprised. Back in my nursery, all the boys never had interested in things like flowers, I think it's... really cool." Kokoro replied.

He looked confused.

"Why is it cool?" Mitsuru asked.

"Because when you're expected to tow the line, it takes a lot of courage to refuse. I know that because... I wasn't able to do that when it really mattered." Kokoro explained, a sad look forming on her face.

He noticed she was thinking about something that troubled her, and decided he shouldn't ask about it. At least, not just yet. He should wait until she seemed, or at the very least, until she chose to tell him herself.

Looking around and noticing a watering can, Mitsuru picked it up and held it near Kokoro, getting her attention.

"So, should we get started?" He suggested.

"Sure, let's begin with organizing these seed packets." Kokoro smiled.

Both of them laid the packets onto the ground, seeing what they had.

* * *

Inside the house, Zero Two was currently sitting down as Hiro finished drying her off the best he could, as they still lacked dry clothes to replace her now only slightly soaked attire.

"There we go. We still need those spare clothes, but do you feel warmer now?" Hiro asked.

"A little bit. Thank you, Darling." Zero Two smiled.

A loud tumble could be heard outside, getting the duo's attention.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Zorome screamed, sounding angry.

Hiro and Zero Two poked their heads out of the bath, causing them to see Zorome and Miku smashing their heads against each other as usual.

"The big idea is that you were shallow enough to write... _that_ into our new home!" Miku shouted, pointing at a spot of green.

Following her finger, Hiro and Zero Two noticed a spot that said **Zorome Enters the Fray!** on it. He apparently painted the words on with some black paint he managed to find lying around somewhere.

"And how is that a problem? It's awesome!" Zorome questioned.

"It's also not _your_ house, it's _our_ house you... you... you monkey!" Miku shouted, pressing her head in further.

"What did you call me!?" He screamed, doing the same.

At that moment, Orochi was seen walking to the door, staring at the arguing pair. He soon tapped them on their shoulders.

"What!?" They both shouted, turning at them.

Their eyes met with Orochi's, and as usual... his reaction was almost non-existent. The sight of it made the two freeze in place before he walked by them, causing Zorome and Miku to stare at his nonchalance to what happened.

Naomi walked inside shortly after, and noticed how everyone was standing in place for no clear reason.

"Is... something wrong?" She asked.

"Nope." Zorome and Miku both replied.

Naomi looked at them with a raised eye, knowing their united reply was out of character for the two, but didn't pay much mind since she assumed it was partially related to how they were feeling about the boarding house that had become their home.

"If anyone needs to find me, I'll be taking a look around the house." She replied.

She began humming to herself, walking into what she'd soon learn was the living room, then let out a loud gasp before rushing back out.

"Quick, go get everyone! There are gifts in here!" Naomi shouted in excitement.

Everyone in the room gasped with the same excitement, while Zero Two looked confused by their reactions.

* * *

It didn't take long to gather the rest of the Pack, and bring them in the living room to find a pile of presents.

"Look! It's everything we've wanted for the past three years!" Zorome smiled.

"I was almost about to question why we stopped getting them. Guess they were just waiting until we had the room the Cave didn't have." Ikuno remarked.

Futoshi quickly saw one with his name on the top.

"Come on, let's open them!" He excitedly suggested.

Everyone began laughing while Zero Two simply watched at them open the various presents. From what should could notice, the presents ranged from things like stuff toys, books, some items specific to girls, and other strange knickknacks.

"What's with all the presents?" Zero Two finally asked.

"Hmm? Wait, so you don't know about this?" Hiro asked in surprise.

Zero Two shook her head.

"Well, once every year, we can ask Papa for things we want. Then on this one particular day, we get them." He explained.

"Oh, I see..." She replied, looking sad.

"Does that mean your picture book wasn't a present from this day?" Hiro asked.

Zero Two shook her head, causing Hiro to go quiet as he realized that meant none of the presents in the pile were for her.

Orochi grabbed the one single present that was for him, then opened it to reveal a set of what looked like medical books.

"That's an interesting present." Naomi smiled.

He looked at his partner, but then inched away and began reading the first one. This made Naomi let out a slight sigh as Zorome found a letter.

"Hey look, there's a message from Papa in here!" He shouted, holding it up.

Everyone looked at him.

"Really?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'll read it for everyone." Zorome confirmed, opening it.

He cleared his throat.

"Boys and Girls, even though you have yet to become noble Parasites? I expect great things from you as a ray of hope! A harbinger of peace, and prosperity for mankind. We all expect great things in the near future." He read aloud.

Zorome let out an excited scream in response.

"Did you hear that? Papa called us a ray of hope!" He exclaimed.

"He probably says that to every Parasite." Orochi remarked.

With those words, the mood was completely killed as everyone stared at Orochi, who chose that very moment to get up and leave the room.

Once he was out of earshot, Miku began to growl.

"Alright, that's it! I'm done letting Orochi ruin everything for us! No more, we're dealing with this now!" She screamed angrily.

"W-What do you mean by _dealing with this_, Miku?" Naomi asked worriedly.

"We're going to force him into socializing with us, and there's one way he'll be forced to do that... if everyone's willing to follow along." Miku replied, smirking confidently.

Zorome looked at her in confusion, then at everyone else.

"Does anyone know what she's talking about?" He asked.

"Oh, come on! It's obvious!" Miku replied with an annoyed look.

She began explaining things to everyone, most of which who showed surprise to the idea.

* * *

Some time passed, and Orochi soon found himself standing before a line of tape.

"Hey, Orochi... you might want to come down here." Hiro nervously suggested.

Turning his head, he saw all the boys gathered on the side of the tape facing left from the front door, making him tilt his head in confusion.

*"RIP!"*

Hearing that sound, he turned to see Miku placing one last bit of tap that fully marked the dividing line.

"This some kind of game?" Orochi asked.

"This is no game. From now on, aside from our rooms when we're sleeping? Boys are completely banned from entering this side of the house." Miku replied.

Orochi didn't seem to pay attention to that and tried to walk to the kitchen.

Keyword being tried, as the moment he got close to walking over the line, Miku stood before him with an expression she had never even given Zorome before. Silent fury.

"Orochi... if you cross this line, I will punch you in the face." Miku warned, holding up her fist.

Ichigo and Ikuno gave the same look, while Zero Two just seemed indifferent, Kokoro seemed afraid by that remark, and Naomi was just nervous. Luckily, even Orochi's usual stoicism failed to stand its ground as he slowly pulled his foot away.

The boys all gasped as they saw him turn around, with a bead of sweat on his face as he walked out of the room.

Once the others were all sure he was out of earshot, they all gathered near the line's centered and began whispering.

"Yes, that totally worked! I've never seen him sweat before!" Miku cheered.

"Let's just hope that he'll crack before this gets out of hand. After all, the kitchen and bath are on your side." Goro remarked.

At that moment, Miku's expression suddenly went flat as she realized that fact.

"I... don't think I thought this through as well as I thought." Miku nervously admitted.

With those words, everyone became worried, unaware that Orochi was spying on them through the crack of the door he walked through.

"Not sure what game you're playing, but two can play at it." He remarked.

He soon held up the tape Miku had used moments ago, having swiped it from her while she was threatening him.

* * *

Sometime later, in the backyard, Zero Two could be seen bouncing a ball with just her head as Hiro stood near her.

"I wonder... why does he act like that?" Hiro wondered, looking at the sky.

"What do you mean by that, Darling?" Zero Two asked, balancing the ball on her nose.

"The way Orochi acts... I don't know why, but after what he said earlier? I'm not sure if he's as different as some of us think he is. It's almost as if he's doing it intentionally, like he wants to stay distant from us." He answered.

Once she heard that, Zero Two bounced the ball into her hands, looking at him with a confused expression.

"I'm not following." She admitted.

"Sorry, I guess it's kind of hard to explain, but... when Miku told him to not cross the line, something didn't feel right to me. He usually stays by himself most of the time, so why would Orochi react so differently when he didn't have that choice?" Hiro clarified best he could.

Zero Two took a moment to try and register everything.

"Orochi alone by choice... that's normal... Orochi alone not by choice... he sweats slightly... that's not normal?" Zero Two mumbled, trying to figure everything out.

"Whoa! Zero Two, try not to hurt-" Hiro panicked.

"**Who did this!?**" Miku screamed at the top of her lungs.

Zero Two dropped the ball as she and Hiro froze, slowly turning to the house as a bad feeling flowed through their veins.

"I... think we need to go inside." Hiro realized.

"Yeah, that sounded bad." Zero two agreed.

Both of them went inside, and soon felt themselves showing shock as they saw the taping had a new addition to it. This new line cut off the girls from the dining room, and as her prior shouting had told everyone, Miku had gotten pissed off.

"Alright, spit it out! Who here used the area I left out to tape off the girls' access to where we eat?" Miku demanded, turning around to show that her horns currently out.

"It wasn't me!" Zorome shouted.

"Actually, how could it have been anyone? Didn't Miku have the roll of tape?" Futoshi mentioned.

Miku suddenly froze at that, letting out a troubled sound from her throat as she began sweating.

"He didn't..." She squeaked.

"Looking for this?" Orochi asked.

Everyone turned to see him spinning the tape roll around one of his fingers. The sight caused everyone to stare at him with shock.

"You stole that from me!" Miku shouted, pointing at him.

He responded by unrolling some tape, making everyone worry he was about to add more.

"No, don't do it, please!" She begged, starting to panic.

"You remove your tape? I remove mine." Orochi stated.

Miku screamed before slumping onto the ground, making Zorome look at his partner.

"She accepts your conditions..." He replied for her.

Orochi threw the tape back to the group, removing all the tape from the house, leaving everyone to watch as the ripping sound it made echoed through their ears. For Miku, it came off to her as her plan being ripped to shreds.

* * *

Miku was seen kicking her feet as she screamed into a pillow, with her and the other girls currently in a large room that could house all the girls when they just wanted to do girl stuff that wasn't bathing or etc.

"Orochi, you stupid... slithery... snake!" She screamed, muffled by the pillow.

"I didn't think he was that clever. Then again, maybe it was too obvious because none of the guys showed a problem with it." Naomi mentioned.

Miku cried upon hearing that comment, prompting Naomi to panic and rub her head.

"Well, to be fair? It might have worked if he hadn't grabbed the tape, since the guys obviously wouldn't have helped him, but I guess we can't really focus on what could have happened at this point." Ichigo remarked.

A pillow hit her in the face, making all the girls surprised as they saw Miku's teary face.

"Stop reminding me of my plan, you jerks!" She cried, tears still flowing down her eyes.

"Sorry..." Ichigo apologized.

Once Miku's sobbing began to lessen, Ikuno began to think.

"Actually, maybe Miku's idea wasn't wrong in itself, but we made the mistake of letting the boys know what was going on." She suggested.

Miku's cries stop as she, and all the other girls, looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Kokoro asked.

"That maybe we girls need to come up with something to surprise all of the boys. If none of them know what we're doing, then we might just catch Orochi off-guard." Ikuno explained.

Zero Two suddenly gained a cat-like grin.

"I think I've got an idea." She offered.

All the girls looked at her as Zero Two whispered her plan, causing all of them to go red.

"Are you crazy!?" Ichigo screamed, getting up close to her face.

"Not at all. Plus, if you're getting this flustered over it, then how likely will Orochi be able to keep his stoicism? After all, we have seen him blush before." Zero Two replied.

That made all the girls' eyes widen in response.

"She has a point. Besides, it will probably more embarrassing for the boys, and shows them what will happen if they try it with us." Naomi mentioned.

The girls thought about her plan again.

"Alright, we'll go along with your idea, but just know that you're the scapegoat if anything goes wrong." Ichigo sighed, giving in.

"Fine." Zero Two replied with a smile.

It was hard to tell, but her face seemed to say she was already planning to do this, and the girls had simply given her an excuse to do make it happen.

* * *

Dry clothes were seen delivered by the front door by the caretakers, with the kids never seeing or hearing them arrive.

"Hey girls, the spare clothes are here! You can take a bath now!" Hiro shouted to them.

"We can't, we're a little busy! Go tell the boys that they can go in first!" Ichigo shouted.

Hiro was surprised by that, since the girls had always insisted on using the bath before them. Though after he thought that, he recalled that Miku was probably still feeling a little upset, and realized that was likely behind their choice.

"Alright!" He shouted back.

Hiro walked out of the room, looking for the other boys of the Pack.

"Hey guys, the girls said we could use the bath first!" He shouted.

"Are you serious!?" Zorome shouted.

After hearing that, Ichigo peaked her head out from the right side of the stairway, keeping an eye out until she saw the boys head towards the bath. Once she saw all of them had gone in...

"They're inside! Go, go, go, go!" She whispered.

The other girls followed her as they quietly went downstairs, with Zero Two peeking through the door to make sure they had left the changing room, and then they all went in to start her plan.

"Alright, grab their clothes, and then we'll start this little chase!" Zero Two smirked.

'Why is she smirking?' The girls all thought.

All of the girls found the bins holding their respective partner's clothes and pulled them out. They prepared to head to the door, when suddenly...

*"CLATTER!"*

Naomi suddenly dropped the bin holding Orochi's clothes, making all of them look at her as she panicked, especially Naomi herself.

"N-No worries, they probably didn't hear any-" She tried to reassure them.

Orochi opened the door, with some kind of bathing trunks as the only clothing he was wearing, causing all of the girls to look at him in horror as the other boys saw them.

"Zero Two, what's our backup option?" Ikuno asked.

"That should be obvious, because it's to... start running away!" Zero Two answered.

All of the girls ran away, making the boys shout in response.

"Our clothes!" Futoshi shouted.

"So, that's the game you're going to play? Fine then... prepare for war." Orochi decided.

He rushed out of the bath, chasing after them.

"Did he just-" Zorome realized.

"Get out of there and get your clothes back!" Orochi shouted, staring at them.

That further surprised the other boys, but just momentarily.

"Hey, he's right! The girls are getting away!" Hiro shouted.

He and the other boys got out as the girls made it to the stairway.

"Quick, we need to split up!" Naomi suggested.

"Why!?" Miku asked, looking panicked.

"Because they'll definitely catch us if we stay in a group!" She answered.

"I second that idea!" Zero Two giggled, running upstairs.

Seeing her leave the group, and Orochi opening the door, the other girls all shouted before doing the same. Orochi was prepared to chase Naomi, only to fall over as the other guys tried to exit the bath all at once.

"Sorry!" They all apologized.

Orochi said nothing, simply crawling his way out before looking at Hiro.

"Zero Two and Ichigo went upstairs, while Ikuno, Miku, and Kokoro are still on this level." He replied.

He then followed Naomi, who had also gone upstairs.

"You heard him, after our partners!" Zorome exclaimed.

"Don't make that sound like a good thing right now..." Goro remarked.

All of the future Stamens began running off to find their respective Pistil as they ran around the house. Futoshi was quick to find Ikuno, who had decided to stop running, like she was waiting for him.

"Alright, time to get back my..." Futoshi declared.

He was soon out of breath, kneeling on his feet.

"Klaxosaur blood or not? You still have very bad stamina, so making you chase me is kind of unfair." Ikuno stated, putting his bin of clothes in front of him.

"Thank you..." He replied tiredly.

His face soon fell into the bin, prompting Ikuno to pat his head as he caught his breath.

Next on the chase was Kokoro and Mitsuru, with Kokoro quickly hitting a dead end.

"Uh oh..." She realized.

Looking around, she dropped the bin and hid behind something, right as Mitsuru ran into the room. Seeing the bin, he let out a sigh.

"Kokoro, if you stop hiding, I'll pretend this didn't happen." He requested.

"OK..." She replied, peaking her head into view.

Ichigo ran until she returned to the stairway, right as Goro appeared on the other side.

"I've got you now!" Goro shouted.

"Uh... uh... ah!" Ichigo panicked.

She slid on the railway, taking her downstairs before Goro could reach her.

"Oh, you are on!" He shouted.

He resumed the chase, with Miku laughed as Zorome tried and failed to grab her, eventually taking them to the living room as she hoped on the couches.

"Can't catch me!" Miku taunted.

"Watch me!" Zorome countered.

He lunged at her, only for Miku to dodge by jumping across the couches like a frog.

"You were saying, slowpoke?" She giggled, running towards the door.

Zorome panted as he tried to catch his breath.

"Zero Two! Get back here with my clothes!" Hiro shouted, trying to find her.

"I'm up here Darling!" Zero Two answered.

Hearing that sound, a hand was seen by the window, making his eyes widen before he ran up to the rooftop. Once he got up there, he was met with the sight of Zero Two's giggling face as she sat on the ground.

Before he knew it, Hiro found himself sitting on the ground and laughing alongside her.

"Zero Two, why did you and the girls do this?" Hiro asked.

"I wanted to see what it was like to be a little naughty, and it was fun." Zero Two smiled, amplified by the setting sun behind her.

Hearing that, Hiro had a small look of surprise before smiling at her.

* * *

Hiro and Zero Two eventually came back downstairs, where everyone was sitting on the couch, and the boys aside from Hiro finally changed into their clothes.

"So, who won each little chase?" Zero Two asked.

"All of the girls except Kokoro, and that's only because Mitsuru played the letting it slide card." Miku said with pride.

Zorome grumbled at that.

"Wait..." Hiro suddenly said.

Counting himself and Zero Two, it wasn't long before Hiro realized a certain pair of partners were absent from the room.

"Naomi and Orochi aren't here." He stated.

"Really?" Ichigo asked, looking around.

Everyone was quickly made aware that the two of them were still gone.

"No way! Are they still chasing each other?" Futoshi wondered aloud.

As the pairs who had ended their chases wondered about that possibility, Naomi herself was proving it was true as she continued running from Orochi, both of them taking a moment to catch their breath.

"You... can't outrun me, forever." Orochi panted, looking for her.

'Gotta hide, quick!' Naomi thought.

She reached for the nearest door she could find, then closed it... though not enough, leaving it slightly creaked open. Orochi soon walked by, noticing the slightly opened door before slowly walking towards it.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Naomi let out a sigh of relief as she slumped onto the floor.

"That was exhausting..." She quietly said to herself.

Orochi opened the door, making Naomi shout as she turned around, bumping into the nearby desk. She hit it with enough force that a box fell off, making Orochi pause as he saw something from that box slide into view.

Naomi soon noticed her partner's expression, and it didn't look good.

"Orochi, what's wrong?" Naomi asked.

He didn't respond, doing little more than stare at the same spot, which eventually prompted her to look at it herself. As she picked it up, Orochi's eyes began to fill with tears and let out some panicked and audible breaths.

*"SCREAM!"*

Everyone heard him scream, with some falling off the couch from the shock.

"Was that Naomi?" Miku asked.

Before anyone could say anything, they saw Naomi stop at the doorway, surprising everyone as they saw her panting.

"Orochi, he... he needs help!" She shouted, a worried look on her face.

"Hold up, that was Orochi's screaming!?" Miku questioned, feeling confused.

"Talk less! Help more!" Naomi shouted.

She ran out of the room, with everyone following her as they saw a shaking Orochi curled up on the floor.

"What happened to him?" Mitsuru asked, looking surprised.

"Well, I ran in here and knocked over a box... which now that I think of it, looks like it has Orochi's stuff in it." Naomi explained, looking at what fell over.

"Probably because this the room you two are sharing." Goro assumed.

Naomi didn't respond to that, simply holding out the framed picture.

"And when it fell, his eyes were looking at this... which is what lead to him screaming. I'm not sure why, but something about this picture left him like this." She continued.

Everyone looked at the picture, showing it had Orochi and seven other children, back when the former was only 5-years old.

"Sorry, but I'm not seeing anything that would make him scream." Ikuno stated.

"We'll need to wait for him to calm down before we can ask him about it. It may not be helping him to stay in this room, so let's get him downstairs." Hiro suggested.

"Right, everyone lift up." Goro agreed.

Everyone helped pick Orochi up, who was still showing the same expression, unaware of what was happening around him.

* * *

Once the girls and boys had gotten Orochi out of his room, and left him to rest in the living room as Naomi watched his resting form, both of their groups gathered in the big rooms to discuss and talk about what they had just witnessed from their normally distant teammate.

Currently, the scene was focused on the boys' room, where Zorome let out a loud scream as he let his body slam against one of the beds in frustration.

"What. Was. That!?" He complained.

"I don't think any of us have a-" Futoshi tried to reply.

Zorome glared at him.

"I didn't ask for a... commanalysis!" He shouted.

Everyone stared at him.

"You do realize that's not a word, right?" Goro replied.

"Forget if it is or not! All this time, we've had to deal with Orochi being so... weird with us, and now we have to deal with this? Not anymore, I'm done!" Zorome complained.

There was a brief moment of silence following that.

"I disagree." Hiro admitted.

"Say what!?" Zorome shouted in disbelief.

"Before now, I never bothered to think why Orochi was acting like he was, but when the girls were making us chase them? I saw a side of Zero Two that had never shown in all the time I've known her." He smiled.

The guys all looked at him, suddenly paying attention to his words.

"That's why... I think we need to consider not just how our partners feel, but each other. Both boys and girls. After all, the girls are already different from us, for reasons they had no control over." Hiro explained.

"True, when compared to us boys, they're extraordinary. Though I guess in their eyes, the reverse is true." Mitsuru realized.

Hiro nodded in response.

"Right, but it isn't just that. Despite we haven't piloted a FRANXX as of yet, knowing we have to pilot together? In a way, they're placing their trust in us. Doesn't that mean that, when we fight together, we should also be placing our trust in each other?" He mentioned.

That caused all of the boys to freeze up slightly, letting that realization finally hit them.

"You're right, I never thought of it like that." Futoshi realized.

"So, if we think of it like that, then maybe we don't know Orochi as well as we'd like to believe. As distant as he is, none of us have even tried to learn why he always acts that way. If we had tried to understand him before now, maybe he might have opened up, because... he maybe he's afraid to trust us." Hiro replied.

Zorome tried to keep a tough face, he sighed and turned his head.

"Fine, I can be man enough to give him another chance. As much as Miku annoys me... she's still my partner. You could hear me say I want a different partner out of anger, but in the end, she's the only girl that I feel could ever be my partner." He admitted.

The guys all stared at him, clearly surprised.

"What? Is something wrong with that!?" He questioned, blushing slightly.

"Not at all, that was just... very mature of you to say." Hiro smiled.

Zorome looked away in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't tell Miku that I said that. If she knew, who knows how she'd tease me over it?" He remarked.

Goro stood up.

"Then there's only one thing for us to do." Goro decided.

The boys all looked at him in agreement.

Meanwhile, on the girls' side. All of them were having a similar conversation.

"I never thought Orochi could scream like that. It was scary." Miku admitted.

"Part of me wants to think he's faking it, but..." Ichigo replied.

No one said anything for a moment, until Kokoro stood up and caught everyone's attention.

"You know what? I don't think we should be treating Orochi as we have anymore!" She shouted.

That surprised all the girls.

"There are some things we can't do alone, like riding in a FRANXX, and we shouldn't let Naomi be hurt by being unable to understand Orochi enough to help when it matters the most! Believe me, I get it... Orochi's nothing like us, but how is that any different from how we're different from the boys?" Kokoro continued, both explaining and asking.

Ikuno seemed troubled by that comment, though the other girls just seemed to think about it.

"Also, this might just be my opinion but, maybe we're different because... that's how the future and the hope Papa always tells us about is made?" Kokoro suggested, feeling a little bashful about sharing that thought.

"Wow, I never thought you'd be so assertive to say that, but despite how unexpected that was? I think you're making a good point." Ichigo praised, smiling at her.

"Same here. None of us here should be doing things with a glass half empty or half full." Zero Two agreed.

"Whoa, hold on! You really can't just be thinking we should drop this that easily, do you?" Miku questioned.

"So, you're saying it's only right if we always complain?" Ikuno inquired.

Miku froze up at that.

"Yeah, we can't go on like this. What if it eventually puts Naomi in danger? I know it's tough, but we need to at least try. If that's too hard for you right now, then-" Ichigo agreed.

"No, I get it. I really don't like it... but I get it." Miku replied, sighing slightly.

That caught everyone's attention.

"Zorome's always talking his mouth about everything and being a pain to deal with. Despite that, he's the only one I feel can be my partner. No one else can handle me, and no one else can handle him." She admitted, looking to the side.

This surprised the girls, while Zero Two simply smiled.

"Don't tell him I said that. He's already got too much in that head of his, and I'm not letting him get any crazier over it." Miku stated, blushing slightly.

Zero Two jumped off the bed she was on, looking at everyone.

"I think we all know what we should be doing now." She stated.

The girls quickly nodded in agreement.

* * *

Naomi placed a wet cloth on Orochi's head, looking at him worriedly... right as his eyes began to shake. She gasped as he woke up and looked at her.

"You're awake! Oh, thank goodness!" Naomi smiled, hugging him.

"Huh, what? Where am..." Orochi mumbled, regaining his bearings.

Seeing Naomi letting him go as his senses fully woke up, he went silent again... though this time? Naomi responded by giving him a serious look, and then grabbed his nose.

"No, no more pulling that act. I've already seen how you reacted to that picture." She revealed.

Orochi's eyes widened at that.

"Everyone saw how you reacted. I don't know what it's about, but you can't keep this from us anymore. You need to... you need to open up to us!" Naomi shouted.

He was surprised by her shouting, seeing tears in her eyes as he lowered his head.

It was around this time that the rest of the pack walked into the living room, causing him to briefly look at them.

"You guys aren't going to let me leave this room until I talk, will you?" Orochi realized, a sigh laced in his voice.

"Nope." Zero Two smiled.

"We may not get why you've been so distant, but... one day you and Naomi will ride in a FRANXX, and how you act might affect that. We're not asking you to change, just to stop hiding from us." Hiro requested.

Orochi sighed.

"The people in that picture? They were my old friends, back in my old nursery." He revealed.

Hearing that already made everyone feel a bad feeling, especially once they saw Orochi's face.

Where his partner was usually happy? His current face, the expression that seemed to be showing the real Orochi, was full of sadness and pain. Maybe even a bit of fear.

"So, these are the people you left when you joined the Pack?" Futoshi asked.

"No, I had already left that nursery before I joined you all. The nursery in the picture is... Nursery 006." Orochi answered.

Zero Two quickly noticed everyone's eyes go wide, as if they had seen a ghost.

"Darling, what's wrong? Why is everyone acting like this?" Zero Two asked.

Hiro grabbed her hand, which caused her to notice how shaky he had gotten.

"Nursery 6 is an abandoned nursery, one that everyone at the Garden knows as the _Silent Nursery_..." Hiro answered.

"Silent Nursery?" Zero Two nervously repeated.

"There's no clear story behind it, but one day... an accident happened without any warning, one that silenced all the children who lived there. All but one, who had been out for a test when the accident happened." Ichigo explained.

Zero Two's eyes widened, briefly holding her head as she recalled some of the tests she endured.

"No one learned who the surviving child was. However, it seems that Orochi was that child." Ikuno remarked.

Naomi looked at Orochi, seeing the sad expression on his face.

"Then the reason you've been so distant from us is..." She realized.

Orochi didn't say anything, though showed some surprise as Naomi hugged him close, making his eyes widen slightly.

"None of us are going to die." Naomi promised, tearing up as well.

"Hiro said we needed to know each other better, as a group. I think this proves that more than ever." Goro agreed.

Hearing that, Orochi felt his mouth quiver.

"You've had to hold in so much for all these years. Not anymore. You don't have to smile right away, or force yourself to join in whatever you do. Just promise you'll talk to us and let me know how you feel, because... I'm your partner, and I want to know you better." Naomi reassured him.

Looking at Naomi, the dam Orochi had built finally shattered as he hugged her back, closing his eyes as he finally let himself cry for the first time in years.

**[Darling in the FRANXX: Lilac]**

Once she saw this, Kokoro gasped before running out of the room, getting everyone's attention.

"Kokoro?" Mitsuru said in confusion.

After a minute or two, she came back with a flowerpot filled with soil, holding a packet of seeds in her hand. This confused everyone as looked at it.

"What's that for?" Ikuno asked.

"There's a language for flowers, and I figured we should make a promise to our future, using one as our symbol." Kokoro explained.

She placed some seeds into the pot.

"According to the book, the Lilac represents three things. Youth, fond memories, and most importantly... friendship." She smiled.

Hearing that, everyone smiled.

These lilacs would one day be more than just a symbol. They were a promise, for the day they finally rode a FRANXX and fought as Parasites, when they had finally grown to become more than just teammates.

**[Insert Song End]**

For it would be the day... they became a family, sharing one dream.

* * *

A few days later, Zero Two looked at the flowerpot holding the lilacs, which were beginning to bud out of the soil. She let out a sigh and walked towards the stairway.

"Hey, Zero Two." Hiro greeted.

"Hmm?" Zero Two blinked.

Looking to the side, she saw Hiro walking up to her, holding something behind his back.

Up on the stairway, Ichigo was watching how things were going. As she did, Goro noticed her.

"Hey, what are you doing-" He asked.

Ichigo shushed him, pointing at the scene below.

"Oh, hey there Darling." Zero Two greeted.

Once he was close enough, Hiro held out a book to her, making Zero Two look at it.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Well, I felt bad that everyone got presents besides you, so... I asked Doctor Franxx to find a book for me to give to you." He explained, blushing as he rubbed the back of his head.

Looking at the book, Zero Two felt her eyes widen.

"Oh, Darling! Thank you!" She shouted, hugging him.

"I take it you like it?" Hiro guessed.

"Yes, I really do." Zero Two smiled.

Goro noticed Ichigo struggling to say nothing as she watched, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Even if you accept it... it still hurts, doesn't it?" He whispered.

"Yeah." She admitted, tearing up slightly.

She got up and walked away, leaving Goro to watch as he felt a slight pain in his heart.

At the same time, Hiro and Zero Two sat down, looking at her second book's title.

"The Beast and the Princess. Is this story familiar to you?" Zero Two asked.

"No, this is the first time I've seen it, meaning we can share the experience." Hiro admitted, smiling at the thought.

She smiled back, and opened the book as they began reading it.

* * *

**There you have it. The Pack has moved into Mistilteinn, we now know Orochi's story, and Zero Two has received the Beast and the Princess book. I can't say much about the book just yet, while Mistilteinn being part of the Bird Nest is mainly due to how the Pack is being planned as an elite squad instead of the Squad of Plantation 13 like in canon. However, for Orochi's story? Well...**

**If you remember when Zero Two chose him and Naomi as a pair, the reason she gave was she noticed the boy seemed sad. Zero Two was right on the mark with that, and that caused him to serve as the warning to our heroes that they need to cherish every moment, and leave no regrets. His story is also part of why I named him Orochi, as a lot of things tied to his character have a snake theme to it. For example, revealing his story is like a snake shedding its skin.**

**Since some people may get confused over this? The whole thing with Squad 13's members having more human forms is to fit how Zero Two has shown she can, at least on some level, shift her appearance to be more like a Human's or a Klaxosapien, best shown by when her horns grew fast and what she did in Episode 21 to save Hiro when almost all seemed lost, but changed back by the end. That, and it gives reason for that headband of hers to exist in this story.**

**They'll most often be in their Human and Hybrid forms, the former in public and the latter while in a Franxx or alone in Mistilteinn, since if they go into their fully Klaxosapien forms... that means shit just got real. Aside from making them much more aggressive in a way not unlike a FRANXX in its Stampede mode, Doctor Franxx considers this dangerous for another reason I'll reveal in the future.**

**One last thing I'll mention before we end things is that this chapter has a lot of foreshadowing for the next two, which will complete the process of the Pack growing up into the Parasites they'll eventually be. This is also where we'll finally see FRANXX beyond the mere mentions they've had until now. Most of all, now that Zero Two has the Beast and the Princess book... just like the Jian Bird story, this one is going to have a major influence once they have Strelitzia.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


	4. Blooming of Bonds

**Here we are with Chapter 4, which is where we're no longer focused on just the development of the Pack's bonds alone, but what they're being prepared for as the future Parasites we know them as in canon. This is also the second-to-last chapter before we reach the present day's events. Anyways, this chapter's events might surprise you, since a good portion of it will focus on something you might not expect.**

**This chapter will also focus on the FRANXX and the Klaxosaurs, since our heroes still only know the bare minimum for each. Speaking of which, in the case of the Klaxosaurs, I should mention this beforehand. Some of the things mentioned aren't proven canon, but likely could be, though I'll explain more at the end notes. As for the FRANXX, well... *giggles* you'll have to read to find out.**

**Besides all of this, the bonding that happens in this chapter will be especially important, for both the group as a whole and each individual pair of partners. The main reason for it being that it's the last of it to happen before any future bonding happens through natural growth and development, since it won't be long before they begin their Parasite training. After all, the timeline does imply they're 14 by the start of Episode 1.**

**Now, let's get this chapter started!**

* * *

**[Chapter 4 - Blooming of Bonds]**

Hiro and Zero Two were seen in their bed, reading the Beast and the Prince story for the fifth time since the book came into the latter's possession.

"This is a Beast Princess' love story." Hiro began, reading it for Zero Two.

She smiled as she listened to her Darling the story, still being as excited as the first time she read it.

"Once upon a time, there was a hidden tribe that lived in the deepest, darkest part of a large forest. They were called the Beasts. Among them was their Princess, known for her large wings of an ashen color. The Beasts normally didn't leave their forest, but their laws said that when a Beast turned seventeen, they would be allowed to fly outside the forest. When she was finally of age, the princess took flight to see the world beyond her homeland, and reached the land of the Humans under the moon of the night sky."

"After flying for ten days, she reached their kingdom and hid on the edges and walls of the castle, and watched the humans go about their lives. As she watched, a single man would entrance her more than any other. It was the Prince of the kingdom, and for the first time in her life, she felt love bloom in her heart. However, she was a Beast, which meant the two could never be together."

"While watching him tend to the castle's garden, the Princess slipped and fell. The Prince was startled, but instead of running in fear? He hurried to her side and asked if she needed help. Afraid of what the Prince might say if he knew she was a Beast, the princess covered herself with her wings and flew away. She flew until she came to a cabin on the edge of the forest. Inside that house lived a witch, who was avoided by both Human and Beasts."

"The princess realized the witch could help her, and went inside, asking her if she could make her a Human that could live with the Prince forever. The witch said she would if the Princess gave her wings in exchange, followed by a warning. _No matter what disguise you take, you are a Beast, and will never be a true human. You will drain the Prince of his life in the end._ The princess didn't care for her warning and ripped off her wings, despite the horrible pain that assaulted her."

"She would never be able to fly again. Despite that, she smiled happily as tears of joy streamed down her face, realizing she was now a Human like the Prince she loved. Now with only her feet to carry her, the Princess once again set out for the Humans' kingdom, finding a group of people standing by a young man who had been bitten by a snake. Rushing to his side, she sucked the venom out of his wound, soon discovering it was none other than the Prince himself!"

"Their eyes met as love formed between them. Soon after, a wedding ceremony was held as the two sealed their vows with a kiss, with the whole kingdom celebrating their union. As she lived with the Humans, the princess realized despite they lacked the wings to fly, or the claws or fangs to hunt, and were ultimately weak and frail creatures... they were such warm and wonderful people that she was happy to have joined."

"Unfortunately, the princess' happiness was short-lived. A horrible pain woke her one night, and she found her body turning into that of a monster. She questioned why this was happening, and heard the witch's voice whisper to her about the price of magic, and how she obtained plenty of happiness. Now, it was time for her to lose herself and become an ugly monster. However, she also heard the witch whisper this would be undone... if she chose to kill the one she loved the most."

"Realizing this meant she had to kill the Prince, the Princess gazed at her beloved, feeling both her love... and the horrible desire to rip his neck apart. She couldn't fight this instinct, and realized there was no choice. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and took off into the sky before her desire to kill him won. The Prince woke up, and found nothing but jet-black feathers where his Princess once was, feeling sadness as the kingdom searched for her in vain."

Closing the book, Hiro looked at Zero Two.

"This story seems kind of sad compared to the story about the Jian Bird, considering the Princess ends up having to leave the Prince..." He admitted, despite enjoying it.

"Maybe, but I still love this book. The Prince and Princess remind me of ourselves." Zero Two replied.

Hiro looked at her in surprise.

"Really?" Hiro asked.

She nodded her head.

"I was more Klaxosaur than Human when we first met, but despite that? You still came to my rescue when I was alone in the world. In a way, you were like my Prince, and it's why you ended up becoming my Darling." Zero Two smiled.

Hiro felt his eyes widen, remembering the one page of the book representing the Prince and Princess' wedding, where a text bubble coming from the Princess had her say a single, yet powerful sentence.

_"Grab on to me and never let go, Darling."_

That had to be why Zero Two felt such a connection to the book.

He learned of that word by chance from a book he had long since forgotten the name of, but understood the meeting clear enough that when he first read about the Jian to believe Zero Two had been his other wing.

The fact the Princess had called the Prince her Darling only helped reinforce their kind of bond as something many could share, and not something that was theirs and theirs alone.

"You're right. Maybe this story is meant to be sad, so people remember to appreciate the things they have." Hiro realized.

"That's right. Besides, I know you'll... always stay by... my side, Darling." Zero Two replied, swaying slightly before she yawned.

Realizing that Zero Two was getting tired, Hiro put the book besides the Jian Bird story. Before either of them knew it, they were already asleep, unaware of how significant that book really was.

* * *

**_~ Two Years Later: Unknown Location_**

Doctor Franxx was seen standing in front of what looked like multiple copies of the Snake Klaxosaur, or rather lifeless and colorless copies of it that slight differences between them.

"Nawabari actually sheds like a real snake would?" He inquired.

"_He was originally as small and strong as a Klaxosaur you would label a Conrad-Class, but grew larger and stronger over a time. I would then begin using his shed skin to give birth to new Klaxosaurs, so under that same logic, they could also be used to create powerful FRANXX._" 001 answered.

"To make a FRANXX using the shed skin of your personal guard... yes, such a FRANXX would definitely be powerful." Doctor Franxx realized.

Before either could say anything more, the Klaxosaur Princess felt a presence.

"_It seems that some of the Parasites under those wannabes are on the way. I'm afraid that there's no way for you to simply run and hide._" She warned.

Doctor Franxx sighed, knowing what she was telling him.

"Go ahead. At this point, there are sacrifices neither of our sides can avoid." He responded, closing his eyes.

"_Glad you understand that fact of war._" 001 replied.

Many of the mass-produced FRANXX were seen moving through the area, looking for something. As they did, their pilots were all shown to be looking calm and collected.

*"RUMBLE!"*

However, those expressions changed to surprise in response to the ground beginning to shake.

"Everyone, stay on guard!" A Stamen warned.

As the FRANXX grouped together, a sudden roar was let out as something smashed out of the ground, revealing a large Klaxosaur.

The battle lasted for a good 5-minutes, but ended with the scraps of the FRANXX and their magma fuel scattered across the ground.

* * *

Morning came for the Bird Nest, including Mistilteinn.

However, things seemed to be different for the hybrids than usual, as various things were out of place. There were various garbage bags piled against the side of the boarding house in something like a pyramid formation, as if they hadn't been picked up for weeks; no lights were on inside the house; the pipes linking to water were gone, and inside, one could see faucet and the like tied up, or the bath having no water.

Back outside, Futoshi was seen pulling on a rope, causing a line of laundry to be raised up, using only the wind and sun to dry them.

"Miku, is the end of your rope tied down yet!?" Futoshi asked, grunting as he held onto the rope.

"It is, you can stop holding it now!" Miku replied.

He moved the rope under a heavy box, letting out a sigh of relief as its weight held it in place. Miku let out a tired breath from her end, showing her side of the rope had been wrapped around the balcony and then taped into place.

Inside the room where the balcony was tied to, Kokoro was seen clipping the girls' underwear onto part of the rope.

*"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"*

Kokoro jumped slightly at the sudden noise, causing her to walk out as she saw Zero Two a ladle and frying pan together.

"Wow, she can really make a racket." Miku remarked.

"Looks like she's on messenger duty this week." Kokoro realized.

"Sure does." Miku agreed.

As Zero Two headed out into the forest, Goro was seen by the elevator area, seeing a note with a box full of food.

"This is the first box of your emergency rations. I'll be sending them to you based on how quickly I know you eat your food." Goro read.

None of the Pack knew why as of yet, but Doctor Franxx had asked them to learn how they could manage themselves in a situation they had limited access to anything. The only thing they understood was it teaching them something.

"We've been doing this for a whole month, why haven't we passed this test of his?" Goro questioned.

As this was going on, Mitsuru and Hiro were at one of the many parts of the lake, seeing a colored dye in the water. It was made to not be dangerous to fishes living in it, and while it was still drinkable? The dye would irritate their stomachs and make them nauseous.

Scooping a cup into the water, Mitsuru saw how much dye was present.

"This is enough dye that the water isn't safe enough for us to drink, although..." He stated.

"We should be able to make this source become drinkable if we can filter it." Hiro realized.

Mitsuru poured the water back in.

"I still don't get why our resources are still being limited. After a whole month, you'd think we had passed this test by now." Mitsuru questioned, feeling confused.

Hiro nodded his head.

"There must be something we're missing." Hiro wondered.

They soon heard Zero Two's clanging sound, turning to see her.

"Come on you two, it's time for Breakfast!" She shouted.

"OK, we're coming." Hiro replied.

Once they and Goro returned to the boarding house, everyone gathered in the dining hall as they served the rations for breakfast. As he looked at the food, Zorome let out a sigh.

"The same food again? If there wasn't anything else to eat, I'd go on a hunger strike." Zorome remarked.

"We don't have anything else, so what else can do?" Ichigo sighed.

As everyone began setting up, Naomi and Orochi walked into the room.

"Hey everyone." Naomi greeted.

"Should you be up? You weren't feeling well the other day." Ikuno asked.

"Don't worry. I looked over my medical books, and to my surprise? It turns out she wasn't sick. She just went through... that time of month, for the first time." Orochi explained, reassuring everyone.

Everyone gave him odd looks, especially the other girls.

"Eh... I'll show you that part of the book later. It's probably something Doctor Franxx might be better at explaining." He suggested.

Soon, everyone was seated down in their chairs, followed by them making praying motions.

"May Papa never thirst, may Papa's heart be filled with peace for all eternity; and now, let us eat." They chanted.

They lathered some packets of honey over their food.

"Let's see... the morning laundry is all finished, we've taken care of the rations, we have thirty minutes to eat, and then after that is..." Zero Two recalled, counting her fingers as she did.

"I still can't believe how easily you can organize everything." Miku remarked.

"We are the only ones here, so we need to make sure we cover everything." Zero Two replied.

Hiro soon noticed Futoshi was barely touching his food.

"Hey, Futoshi? Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Not at all. I've just gotten tired of eating this, so... I decided I should use this chance to diet!" Futoshi replied.

Zorome spit out his food on Orochi, and gave Zorome a deadpan look, who didn't notice as he started laughing.

"You, and dieting? That's a waste of time!" He continued laughing.

"Hey, we don't know that!" Futoshi retorted.

Orochi soon tapped Zorome's shoulder, making him turn before he felt Orochi spit in his face.

"What was that for!?" Zorome questioned.

"For spitting in my face, idiot." Orochi replied.

Zorome froze at that, making everyone laugh in response, with Orochi briefly cracking a smile.

* * *

Nana and Hachi were seen in the usual room they spoke to Doctor Franxx through. They had changed slightly over the years, with Hachi's hair now being in a buzz cut, and Nana's hair now reaching to slightly past her shoulders.

"Sorry it took me a while to get back. How have the children been doing with their current test?" Doctor Franxx asked.

"They're definitely managing to be conservative, but they still haven't realized what more they can do." Hachi answered.

Doctor Franxx chuckled a bit.

"Hopefully they don't take too long in figuring this out. Once this is done, the time for you to be more directly involved will come." He replied.

Nana sighed in response.

"Doctor, it may be a little late for me to ask this, but exactly what is the point of this test?" She inquired.

"Depends on what you're asking me, because if it's in the context of Parasite skills? Then it has no point." Doctor Franxx asked.

"It is, so why are we-" She questioned.

"Because they need to learn now there's more to life than piloting a FRANXX and fighting with them." He answered.

That made Nana pause.

"We don't know how this war will end, but if everything works out, then they'll need to be able to let go of fighting and help restore this world. After all, people die from more than fighting Klaxosaurs." Doctor Franxx continued.

Hearing that made Nana lower her head slightly, with Hachi clearing his throat.

"Oh, my apologies Nana. Didn't need to remind you about that. Anyways, my main point is that they need to know more than Papa let you and the Parasites before you learn. You and Hachi need to help them with that as much as I do." He explained.

"Alright, I may not fully understand what you're doing, but I'll do my best to trust in the choices you're making." Nana replied.

"Now, if you'll excuse me? I should get started on making the main framework for their FRANXX." Doctor Franxx stated.

His screen disappeared.

"I really wish he could understand everything he was doing. I'd like to give him my full support with any doubts, but-" Nana remarked, looking somewhat guilty.

"The way we were raised makes it hard for us. Honestly, I'm not sure we would have trusted him with all of this if it hadn't been for us losing our partners." Hachi agreed.

"If that's the case, then how will these children understand any more than we do?" She asked.

"Considering what I've heard from the Doctor one of our earlier talks? It's because of Hiro's unique personality, as back in the Garden, he wasn't afraid to ask questions or do things the adults tried to keep him from doing." He guessed.

Nana showed some surprise at that.

"How could any child develop such a personality in the first place?" She questioned.

"I asked myself the same, so I looked at his DNA source. Look what it is." Hachi replied.

Looking at a screen he brought up, she let out a gasp.

* * *

Ichigo had a map of Mistilteinn's layout in front of her, showing three spots on the lake that were circled, two that had a triangle shape, and the rest with an X marking on top of them.

"As we know, there are five sources for drinking water." Ichigo began.

"And out of those five, two are only usable once we find a means of filtration." Mitsuru added.

Everyone tried to think in response.

"Come on, there has to be something we're missing." Ikuno remarked.

"I'm honestly not sure. We've already looked at all the place we can get water, and learned how to dry our clothes using the wind and the bit of sunlight we can get." Naomi mentioned.

"Not to mention we're able to bathe in part of the river." Miku added.

Ichigo let out a sigh.

"I'm only starting to realize how much we've had to rely on our caretakers before now. Without them, I feel so lost." She stated.

"You're right. From hot food to electricity, to even clean even clothes and garbage disposal, they've always taken care of our needs." Kokoro agreed.

"While I'm not trying to be cynical when I say this... what if they eventually decide not to keep giving us emergency rations?" Orochi questioned.

"I doubt they'd go that far. After all, the animals and the trees in here aren't part of this test, so it wouldn't be fair to make all of them suffer." Kokoro replied, certain that was an unlikely possibility.

Once he heard that, Hiro realized something.

"Hold on. This past month, has there even been any changes with the animals and the trees?" He asked.

This caught the attention of everyone else.

"Now that you mention it, there hasn't been. The only real change is that the fish are swimming in colored water, and they don't even seem to notice it, or at least don't care." Futoshi realized.

"And I've seen the birds eating a few times, but I've never seen where they get their food. I'm not even sure how trees eat." Orochi mentioned.

"It might be like the flowers in the greenhouse. They simply need water, heat, light, and nutrients from the soil as their food." Kokoro guessed.

Zero Two hummed at what everyone said, then let out a gasp.

"Of course, that's gotta be what we've been missing!" She exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Zorome asked.

"All of us have only been conserving what we already have, but the animals have never needed our caretakers aid. Darling and I even saw some animals when we escaped from the Garden, yet we all live inside. That means despite the conditions in the outside world, they've been able to live and survive all on their own." Zero Two answered.

He blinked in confusion.

"Still don't get it." He admitted.

"Think about it. If they don't need the caretakers to cook them any food, that must mean they make it themselves, so therefore we should be able to do the same!" Zero Two clarified.

Everyone gasped at that.

"Of course! You tried to eat some of the animals, and while I thought that was wrong at the time, maybe we get some of our food that way." Hiro remembered.

"Though how do we make food? I mean, none of us know how to cook." Naomi asked.

"Maybe some of the books in the study might be able to show us how?" Mitsuru suggested.

Orochi recalled something as he said that.

"Not only that, but some of my medical books list medicinal plants and others that are either safe or too dangerous to eat, so maybe we can use them for food as well." He realized.

"Then I think we can do it! We just need to work together!" Kokoro realized.

"Alright, then that's that!" Zero Two shouted.

And with those words, everyone began gathering what they needed for their preparations.

* * *

Hovering above the Earth somewhat, a floating base was seen, housing APE inside of it.

"How are the preparations for the clones of the hybrids coming along?" Papa inquired.

"All the clones are showing strong stability in their genetic structures. The worst issue we were told about were that some of the clones required multiple DNA samples to be properly developed, and we only managed to create nine functional DNA strands." Tarsier answered.

That made Papa go silent, as while having less was acceptable to him, the issue was having an odd number of Parasites meant one lacked a partner of the same wavelength.

"However, there is good news there. Despite only nine successful strands were made, one of them was able to be used a total of four times, so we'll have twelve Parasites as a result." Tarsier continued.

"Unexpected, but I can't argue with the results." Papa replied, thinking of an idea in response.

"Now that their development is nearly ready, what should we call this Squad?" Gorilla asked.

"We recently lost Plantation 9 to a Lehmann-Class Klaxosaur, so how about we call them the Nines? The fact we created nine different genetic variants makes the timing of their birth quite fitting." Tarsier suggested.

Papa nodded his head.

"Then this elite squad will be known as the Nines, and as for their codes? Let's use a more unique form of the numbering system, to mark how they and the squad of hybrids will begin the end of this war." Papa decided.

He brought up a screen listing the Greek alphabet.

* * *

Back inside Mistilteinn, the Pack had split into two groups.

Miku, Zorome, Mitsuru, Kokoro, Ikuno, and Futoshi were gathered around the area outside of the boarding house, preparing things and starting on making food with some of the things they had. Hiro, Zero Two, Ichigo, Goro, Naomi, and Orochi had gone into the forest to gather more food or ingredients they didn't need.

"OK, please work." Futoshi begged, trying to start a fire.

He was getting smoke, but no flames were burning from the wood, leaving him worried and Zorome with a bored expression.

"This is hard." He remarked.

"I think this is just hot air." Zorome stated, leaning at the wood.

He blew at it, making the fire finally spark to life as Futoshi fell over.

"That's fire? Way cool!" Zorome exclaimed.

Nearby, the others had set up a table, with each end and the middle being used by everyone for a different task. At the middle, Ikuno and Miku began kneading some bread dough, with Ikuno wiping her forehead.

"Alright, give it a good impact." Ikuno stated.

"Right, here goes!" Miku shouted, picking it up.

She slammed it onto the board, making a small cloud of flour form.

Meanwhile, on the left end of the table Kokoro was seen with a bowl and scissors to cut the nearby plants into materials for a salad. At the same time, on the right end of the table, Mitsuru was looking at a book as he mixed some ingredients to make salad dressing.

"Hey guys, we're back!" Ichigo shouted.

"Look what we brought!" Zero Two smiled.

The other half of the Pack turned to see them carrying a bucket full of fish, a basket carrying plants and fruits, along with a bull holding nuts and anything else. The sight of it all was incredible!

"You guys really gathered a haul!" Zorome exclaimed.

"Not only that, look at this." Orochi replied.

Naomi brought out an extra fruit that was partially split, showing there were seeds inside of it.

"Those look like flower seeds." Kokoro realized.

"We thought so too. Maybe that means we can grow them in a similar way, though I'm not sure if we can grow them like flowers." Naomi replied.

"Hopefully there's a book on this, though we might want to avoid planting anything that grows a seed too close to the house." Orochi mentioned.

Futoshi looked inside the bucket.

"Whoa! How many fish did you catch?" He asked.

"I caught 15, though Darling only caught 5." Zero Two answered.

Hiro chuckled in embarrassment.

"Next time, let me try fishing!" Zorome requested.

Ichigo smiled as she saw everyone's faces.

"What are you thinking about?" Goro asked.

"Not much, just how much the mood has changed since we had this idea." She answered.

An hour or two quickly passed, and everyone began finishing cooking as they set a full table.

"We're done, right?" Orochi asked tiredly.

"Looks like it." Naomi assumed.

"We. Are. Incredible! We cooked for ourselves!" Zorome exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure you only started a fire." Miku smirked.

Zorome grumbled in reply.

"Still, now we know that we're capable of it." Goro smiled.

"Now all that's left is to see if it tastes good." Kokoro stated, slightly nervous.

Ichigo sat down and put her hands together.

"Take your seats and join me in prayer." She requested.

"Do we really need to pray?" Zorome questioned.

"Wait, what?" Ichigo said in surprise.

"We pray to Papa for what he gives us, but we did all this work ourselves." He explained.

Everyone paused for a moment.

"That... actually makes senses, guess we don't really need to pray for this meal." Orochi realized.

"Exactly!" Zorome exclaimed.

He took the first bite, digging into a fish, with everyone watching.

"Wow, this is good!" He praised.

"Really?" Miku said with excitement.

She took a bite of the salad, letting out a happy gasp.

"Yeah, it's both tasty and edible!" She agreed.

"That's great!" Kokoro smiled.

Everyone soon began to dig in, enjoying the food they made together.

"I wonder if every squad does this, or just ours?" Zorome thought aloud.

"Considering why we live here in Mistilteinn, I wouldn't be surprised if we're the only ones." Zero Two replied.

"Yeah, we're probably the only children who can cook!" He agreed.

Zorome then noticed Futoshi staring as his food, sweating a little as he stared at the food before him.

"Come on Futoshi, eat up." He smirked, holding it near his face.

He tried to look away, sweating more as Zorome brought it closer.

"Seriously, why are you so concerned about how you look? We're already different enough from everyone else. Taking that into mind, you shouldn't care if you're a fatty or not." Zorome questioned, giving him a deadpan look.

"Hey, don't call me a fatty!" Futoshi shouted.

"Then don't be afraid to eat all you want!" Zorome retorted.

Futoshi said nothing, then picked up a fish.

"Just watch, I'll eat it all!" He declared.

He bit into the fish.

"Careful, or you might-" Orochi warned.

Everyone heard Futoshi caught slightly.

"Choke on it..." He sighed.

Futoshi hit his chest a few times before it went down properly.

"Yeah, that was a mistake." Futoshi agreed.

"Though your choice of cooking wasn't." Doctor Franxx remarked.

Everyone turned to see the old man as he walked into view.

"Doctor Franxx!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Looks like you've managed to pass this test, and now that you have? I think it's time to move you up to the last stage of your training." He stated.

That made everyone gasp.

"No way, are you saying that-" Ichigo asked.

"I am. It's time to begin your official Parasite training, so finish up your dinner, and then let me know so I can bring you to your first debriefing." Doctor Franxx confirmed.

Everyone had to cover their ears as Zorome let out a loud scream.

* * *

Once everyone had finished eating, they were riding down the elevator with Doctor Franxx.

"So, where are we going?" Zorome asked.

"Just a moment, timing is everything here." Doctor Franxx replied.

This confused the future Parasites, until he saw the timing he was waiting for, and pressed a certain combination of buttons on the elevator. This caused the lights to briefly turn off before the floor number was replaced by a lit-up F.

Everyone screamed as the elevator moved sideways, with only the doctor himself showing no reaction to it.

After a minute or two, the elevator came to a stop, with the lights turning back on as the door opened. Everyone was left a little dazed, while Futoshi nearly turned green from the shaking his stomach went through.

"I hope we don't... have to go through that too often." Hiro remarked, taking a few breaths.

"Don't worry, it's pretty rare for me to bring anyone to my personal lab." Doctor Franxx replied.

That caught the Pack by surprise.

"What? Am I not someone who looks like they would have one?" He asked.

"It's hard to tell. You don't really look like the other adults." Orochi replied.

Hearing that, the doctor laughed.

"Guess that's true for two different reasons. Anyways, I have two people here that I'd like you to meet. Zorome in particular will likely be happy to meet them." Doctor Franxx revealed.

Zorome's pupils grew in response, causing the others to put some distance between them and him.

"We're going to meet some adults!?" He asked excitedly.

"No, you're getting something even better. You're going to meet some adults that were originally Parasites until the time your squad was formed." Doctor Franxx answered.

Hearing that, Zorome was about to scream in excitement, only for Miku to cover his mouth.

"Don't even think about it, not after the last scream you gave us." She warned, glaring at him.

Zorome gave a muffled, nervous laugh as Miku pulled her hand way. Once that was taken care of, Doctor Franxx turned to face a nearby door, coughing into his hand.

"Alright, you can come in now." He stated.

The door opened as Nana and Hachi walked out of it.

"Let's get introductions out of the way." Doctor Franxx suggested, handing the conversation to the pair.

"My name is Nana, formerly known as Code 007. I'll be your newest, and only visible, caretaker." Nana greeted, smiling as she did.

"And my name is Hachi, formerly known as Code 008. I'll be this squad's defense commander, being in charge of your deployments upon you become official parasites." Hachi greeted, showing an unreadable expression.

Hearing their codes surprised all twelve of the children before them, especially Zero Two.

"Parasites with single-digit codes... I thought Zero Two was the only one!" Ichigo remarked.

"I thought that myself." Zero Two admitted.

Doctor Franxx watched as they focused mostly on how they once had single-digit codes, then rolled his eyes.

"Ahem!" He coughed.

Everyone looked at him.

"Like I said before, this is the start of your Parasite training, so Hachi will tell you more about the Klaxosaurs and the FRANXX you'll be piloting. You already know about each, but it's time that you learn the full context of why you fight." Doctor Franxx stated.

He soon walked back to the elevator.

"Now, if you'll excuse me? I have some work to resume." He continued, pressing the elevator button.

The door opened as he went inside, prompting Hachi to turn the lights off.

"Everyone, sit down. It's time to begin." He requested.

All of the Pack sat themselves on step-like areas of the floor.

"We'll start by talking about the Klaxosaurs. First off, what do all of you already know about them?" Hachi inquired.

"That they appeared a century ago, starting a war with Humanity that's left the world fairly desolate." Hiro answered.

"Correct, though that's only scratching the surface." Hachi replied.

A screen formed before the group, showing all of the hybrids a picture of a Klaxosaur for the first time. It was a black-colored creature that seemed to have traits of a dragon and dinosaur's body, looking to be a bionic life form, with the organic half showing in the form of light blue areas that emitted a glow strong enough to be seen in the daylight.

"Whoa... so, that's a Klaxosaur?" Ikuno asked.

She was shaking just from seeing the image, knowing Hachi hadn't even shown them in action just yet.

"It is. Though not all of them look like this, and the size of each Klaxosaur is different among each individual." Nana confirmed.

"There are five different variations of Klaxosaur we define as classes." Hachi explained.

He switched to a small Klaxosaur around half the size of the common FRANXX model.

"First is the Conrad-Class, which are smaller than a FRANXX, but are still dangerous because they move in large groups. As such, we usually avoid having Parasites fight them unless the situation forces our hand."

The next Klaxosaur's size was larger than a FRANXX, but the size difference wasn't that different from the Pack compared to their boarding house.

"This is a Mohorovicc-Class, which is where Parasites are best involved in fighting them. They aren't that dangerous, so a single pair is enough to defeat them, but their size is still dangerous to a Plantation's safety."

Next was the picture of a Klaxosaur at least three times larger than the one before it.

"Here's where the Klaxosaurs become a threat. This is a Repiti-Class, which are still capable of being beaten by a single FRANXX, but require more care. This is a mistake that has cost many young Parasites their lives."

Following this, an incredibly large Klaxosaur appeared that was only slightly smaller than a Plantation in size.

"This is a Gutenberg-Class, which requires the might of an entire squad to defeat. Most attacks on a Planation tend to be the result of this class, so expect to fight them on a regular basis."

While everyone expected another image, what they got for the final type of Klaxosaur was instead a video, showing a large Klaxosaur that somewhat exceeded a Plantation in size. The sight of this left everyone in horror as the video continued... and it destroyed the Plantation its size was compared.

"Holy shit..." Orochi breathed, feeling his eyes shaking.

"This is Lehman-Class, the rarest, but most powerful kind of Klaxosaurs we know of. They're so dangerous, Plantations often choose to flee an area if they detect one. Don't expect to be fighting many of them, as it often takes two or more squads to take one out, leading to many encounters with one leading to as you just saw." Hachi explained.

This made all of the hybrids gasp.

"Have you two ever..." Naomi asked.

"We have, and despite teaming up with another squad to beat it, only ours survived in the end." Nana confirmed.

Orochi and Naomi were both shaking by that point, moving behind the rest of their friends.

"Don't let this scare you too much. Most FRANXX are of the same model, with few variations between them in both weaponry and designs. Only the elite Parasites who serve under APE have any noticeable variations, and even those differences are fairly small." Hachi reassured them.

"This won't be the case for all of you, as Doctor Franxx is developing special FRANXX for each of you." Nana revealed.

Hearing this got everyone's attention.

"Special in what way?" Miku inquired.

"Doctor Franxx has been monitoring all of you and the interactions between each pair of partners, but as of right now, that's only been to decide a generalized area of what your FRANXX will be capable of. When you return to Mistilteinn, the doctor will have left a task that will decide the basis and full abilities they'll be design with." Hachi replied.

Kokoro let out a quiet gasp, having an idea of what this task was.

"We'll get into the full details of the FRANXX at a later date, but for now, we'll go over they work in general." He continued.

Everyone began listening in as Hachi and Nana explained the operation of the machines they'd be piloting in the near future.

* * *

Once everyone returned to Mistilteinn, the first thing Kokoro did was walk into the greenhouse to try and confirm her earlier suspicions. Sure enough, the six flowerpots she and Mitsuru had left empty had their codes written on them.

"All this time... these pots were meant for the day he began working on our FRANXX." Kokoro said, almost whispering to herself.

"So, this is why you suddenly rushed over here once we got back." Mitsuru realized.

She jumped in response, turning around to see her partner standing at the doorway.

"I really need to stop before this ends up becoming a habit." Mitsuru realized, rubbing the neck as he blushed in embarrassment.

Kokoro gave a nervous laugh in response.

"I'll admit that I'm a little surprised. I had a feeling the six pots were significant to us in some way, but I didn't think he wanted to base our FRANXX off of flowers." He admitted.

"Same here, but I have an idea of why he might use them as a basis." Kokoro replied.

"What's that?" Mitsuru asked.

"Because they're a lot like us. We're both Human and Klaxosaur, and we're all very different from one another, just like how flowers are varied, but still have similar features to them." She replied.

Looking at the flowers, Mitsuru began to notice what she was saying.

"I think the language of flowers could also play a role. If each flower has its own meaning, then maybe he wants us to pick a flower representing each pair in the Pack." He wondered aloud.

"That could be true. Although, I can't see any letter that can give us any specifics." Kokoro replied.

"True, unless he either doesn't want us to know, or he just wants each of us to pick a flower. There may not be any deeper reason beyond what we decide ourselves, if at all." Mitsuru suggested.

He soon walked up to the pots and began stacking them.

"Anyways, let's tell everyone about this. I'll carry these and you can carry the seed packets." He decided.

"OK." Kokoro agreed.

Gathering the seed packets, they headed towards the house.

* * *

Everyone sat in the living room with each pair's respective pot facing them.

"So, you're saying our FRANXX are going to be designed after flowers, and we just have to choose which flowers we want them to be based on?" Zero Two asked.

"That's what me and Kokoro think, though how deeply that is was the only thing we weren't sure of." Mitsuru confirmed.

Ichigo looked at all the seed packets.

"Makes sense, but... how do we choose?" She asked.

"Since we're all in pairs, maybe we should use the language of flowers here. Like picking a flower that represents our respective bonds with our partners." Kokoro suggested.

She then put out a group of papers, showing six list with all the meanings of the flowers among the seeds they had.

"If we consider our FRANXX as representations of our bonds, then it makes sense to choose based on that." Hiro realized.

"Then Darling and I pick this one!" Zero Two exclaimed.

Everyone saw her holding a list, pointing at the flower known as the Bird of Paradise, causing everyone to chuckle at her.

"A flower with bird in its name... it was obvious she'd pick that one, right?" Orochi inquired.

"As obvious as how one of these flowers' has a meaning fitting Zorome pretty well." Miku answered.

Zorome paused at that.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"This one says it can mean immaturity, which fits how childish you are." Miku teased.

Zorome looked at the list she held, seeing a flower with immaturity as its listed meaning, making him fume slightly.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're immature too, so it really is perfect!" He retorted.

"Excuse me!?" She questioned.

Their cowlicks began striking each other.

"Uh... maybe the rest of us should decide on our choice of flower somewhere else." Goro suggested.

"Seconded." Ikuno agreed.

The other five pairs left the room, leaving the two alone with their little argument.

* * *

Ichigo and Goro were seen outside, standing where the dinner table had been hours earlier.

"So, what kind of flower do you think represents us?" Goro asked.

"If I'm being honest? I think for the two of us, we should pick a flower based not on what we are now, but what we're going to be." Ichigo suggested.

That caught Goro's attention.

"Is there are particular reason you're suggesting that?" He inquired.

Ichigo didn't say anything at first.

"Ichigo?" Goro said worriedly.

"Because... I want it to always remind me that I need to move on from Hiro, and not think of anyone like I initially did with Zero Two." She admitted.

Goro gasped as he heard that, both she decided to officially let Zero Two have Hiro, and that she had thought of Zero Two in a different way to begin with.

"When we first met her, I... I had it in my head she wasn't anything like us. Because she was never just Human like we used to be, and my own jealousy, I painted herself as an unapproachable enigma. One that I didn't want to understand. However, as time passed, I realized she was just an ordinary girl." Ichigo explained.

"Yeah, I agree." Goro smiled, feeling happy Ichigo had said that.

"I doubt either of us will ever understand what happened that day Hiro and Zero Two met, but regardless of what they went through, she's an irreplaceable part of this squad. Maybe I'll never get over how I feel for Hiro, but I want what's best for him... even if that's not me." She continued.

Goro soon heard her sniffle a bit, hearing her cry.

'That must have been harder to admit than she's letting me know.' He realized.

He tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but once it got close, his eyes widened.

A strange feeling suddenly enveloped his body.

'What's this... feeling?' Goro asked himself, noticing it seemed like he was both happy and in pain.

During that moment, Ichigo's crying devolved into breathing, and she wiped her remaining tears away.

"Sorry I had to let you see that. Anyways, this is the flower I think best fits that." She stated.

Goro didn't notice for a moment, then blinked as he turned his attention to the flower Ichigo chose to point out, seeing it had the meaning of openness to new experiences.

"That seems a little too convenient." He remarked.

"Like the Bird of Paradise wasn't?" Ichigo mentioned.

"Fair point." Goro admitted.

* * *

Orochi waved the list before him, showing his usual dullness as he did, with Naomi looking at him. Eventually, she had enough of it and walked up to him.

"Orochi, hello?" She said, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Hmm... huh? What?" He stuttered, shaking his focus back into place.

"You've been staring at that for a while now." Naomi stated.

Looking at the paper, Orochi didn't say anything for a moment, then let out a sigh before looking at his partner.

"I'm not surprised. Even after reading this, I don't know what kind of flower represents our bond." He admitted.

Naomi didn't know what to say in response.

"How I act now came from what happened in my original nursery, but you're always so happy, so... what common link do we have?" Orochi questioned, his voice begging for an answer.

"Maybe it's not as hard as you think." Naomi suggested.

Orochi looked at her with a confused look, right as she bent near his ear. His eyes quickly widened at the words she whispered in his ear.

"You... can't be serious." He replied.

"But I am, and I wish I wasn't." Naomi confirmed.

Once he heard that, Orochi's eyes moved to the list, suddenly seeing one flower that was now the perfect match for them.

* * *

Soon enough, everyone had made their decisions on what flower they had chosen, and returned to see Miku and Zorome were still having their argument.

"You're a jerk!" Zorome shouted.

"And you're an idiot!" Miku countered.

"And we're all surprised by how long you two have been having this argument." Ikuno remarked.

Orochi sighed.

"Allow me." He offered.

He snuck between the two, without either of them noticing, and then pinched their arms.

"Ow!" They both screamed.

"So, are you two done now?" He inquired, giving them deadpan expressions.

They took a moment to rub where Orochi had pinched them, wincing slightly.

"Well, we are now." Miku replied.

"Did you have to pinch so hard!?" Zorome questioned.

"Yes, yes I did." Orochi answered.

Zorome grumbled in response.

Aside from Hiro and Zero Two, who had already said theirs, everyone soon handed their lists to Kokoro, who gave them the packet of seeds for their chosen flowers.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Hiro asked.

Everyone nodded.

"OK, then here goes nothing." He stated.

The seed packets were ripped open, and the seeds were poured into each pot, sealing the designs of their future FRANXX.

That night, the flowerpots surrounded the flowerpot used to grow lilacs two years ago. Joining them in symbolizing the strong bonds of the squad that would only continue to grow stronger.

* * *

Watching from a monitor, Doctor Franxx saw everyone's choices, and felt a wave of ideas flow through his head.

"_So, these are the symbols of their bonds._" 001 remarked with interest.

"I'm assuming flowers existed back in your time?" Doctor Franxx inquired.

"_I believe so, but after so many years... I'm fairly certain that unless the flowers from back then were restored after we became one with the Earth? There isn't a single flower I can recall._" The Klaxosaur Princess confirmed, sadness in her voice.

He was respectful enough to not say anything, giving her a moment to grieve over the memories her reply had dug up.

"In a way, one could say the flowers of today are another representation of the bonds that form the Klaxosaurs, since most flowers have a male and female part within them." He mentioned.

"_I've seen that information in your memories. It brings me some comfort to see, even after all this time, that part of the Earth remembered us._" 001 replied.

Doctor Franxx soon walked over to the console, typing the new data, which began with six names. The names he had chosen for the FRANXX based on the children's choices.

Strelitzia, Delphinium, Argentea, Genista, Chlorophytum, and Hibiscus.

Following these choices of names. and the images of the flowers linked to them, blueprints were generated in his terminal. This in turn caused secondary blueprints to form by the FRANXX's designs as mechanical animals.

They appeared as a lion, tiger, rabbit, dragon, bird, and deer, in the same order as he put in the names.

"Alright, let's begin." He stated, shifting his focus upward.

His eyes met with six FRANXX which had Nawabari's shed skin fused to them, causing the areas that should glow to briefly light up with their respective pistil's color, marking the process of their completion had entered its first stage.

Despite how she was normally enraged by the sight of how the creation of a FRANXX perverted her children into something she deemed ugly, 001 still watched through Doctor Franxx, knowing she had to see this through to the end.

'_These are the wings that we leave in your hands, my new children._' She thought, closing her eyes.

The same wings that were once hers.

* * *

Within a secret facility located somewhere in the satellite that APE often resided in, a group of twelve pods were shown, incubating twelve people inside of them.

Various statistics could be seen on nearby panels, including a percentage total that was likely showing how far into completion, with two of them currently at a total of 99%... right before they reached 100% and emitted mist. The two pods then began to open, causing Tarsier to walk into view.

"So, the clones of 002 and 016 have already managed to finish their development process. No surprise there." He remarked, staring at their opening pods.

A ring of light surrounded the pods, causing a male and female around the Pack's age to be revealed, already fully clothed. They slowly opened their eyes.

"What... is this?" The boy mumbled, his head feeling fuzzy.

"This sensation, I feel..." The girl muttered, having the same feeling.

The boy had a strong resemblance to Hiro, with the changes mainly consisting of having slightly messier hair of a honey blonde color, with his eyes being green. The girl had a similarly strong resemblance to Zero Two, also with messier hair of a midnight blue (almost black) color that reached her chest, with her eyes appearing to be a shade of gold.

"I see you've finally joined us." Papa stated.

Both of them looked up, seeing Papa walk into view, and prompting Tarsier to move aside.

"Who are you?" They both asked.

"You two may call me Papa, as for the two of you... welcome to this world Alpha, and Omega." He answered, looking at the boy and then the girl.

Neither child had any idea what was in store for them, or the ten children who were still developing.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter. I bet no one expected parts of Episode 16 to be in here, but since Doctor Franxx and the 001 are working together, it made sense in having them learn it much earlier than in canon. The Pack has also officially met Nana and Hachi, while the first two of the Nines have been born. Most of all, the Pack's FRANXX are finally being developed, with their designs having been decided in an unexpected way.**

**There are a few things for me to cover, but first should be the Nines, since they were in the last scene. They are named the same in canon, but instead of there being a Mu, the clone of Zero Two is instead named Omega. Besides the obvious Alpha and Omega theme, it fits the clone of Zero Two better due to how the story begins with Hiro, who is Alpha's clone, while APE wants to end things with Zero Two, hence the choice to name her clone as Omega.**

**Likewise, they are called the Nines from a combination of Plantation 9 being recently destroyed, and because the DNA they received was only able to make a total of nine working DNA strands, with Zeta, Eta, and Theta gaining another twin in their ranks to the one strand being durable enough for multiple uses. It was honestly luck in that, just like with having multiple children in real life.**

**We've also gotten our first glimpse of Hibiscus, the FRANXX that Naomi and Orochi will be operating. I can't talk much about it right now, aside from how its main form of attacking is long ranged, like Genista and Chlorophytum, and its Stampede form being a Deer is based on this. Speaking of the other Stampede modes, I don't know if they'll all appear, so I decided to at least show them if anyone was curious.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


	5. Kiss of Death

**Alright, we've finally made it to Chapter 5, which is the point of the story where our heroes will finally begin their FRANXX training! Before I say anything else? The first five chapters have comprised one entire arc, and now that this arc has come to an end... we're finally getting to the events of canon! As of this chapter, the Pack will finally be official Parasites!**

**Since the last few chapters have all had time skips? I don't think there's any real spoilers in confirming this here. This chapter is where our Parasites are finally teenagers, meaning their years of training are finally nearing their end, since it's implied that Parasite candidates needs to be around that age before they're put into a squad. This also means the romances will finally begin.**

**This chapter is also the last one before the squad starts to experience hardships, since Orochi's back story was a more specific case, but what I'm referring to isn't exactly what you might be thinking either. All that I can say there is regardless of what path the story takes? Expect some heavy changes from the events in canon, especially from here.**

**Something else I just realized I forgot to say in the previous chapter? According to the wiki, Klaxosaurs are named after discontinuities inside the Earth's, and they used all but one, hence the Repiti-Class being mentioned, since many Klaxosaurs with unlisted Classes may qualify as this one. The powerful Super Lehmann-Class from Episode 15, in this story is an even stronger level.**

**Now, without further ado? Let's the chapter begin!**

* * *

**[Chapter 5 - Kiss of Death]**

In an unknown area of Earth, if only due to the desolate desert of a wasteland almost all of it had become over the nearly century long war with the Klaxosaurs, a group of six FRANXX were seen lined up as they held out their weapons.

Compared to normal FRANXX, these models were intimidating and had a sleek silhouette, with bulky shoulder and leg plates. Their faces were expressionless, as if wearing a mask, with a blue glow illuminating from their eyes.

"We've waited long enough for this chance, so what do you say we go all out?" Omega asked.

At the moment, she was wearing a unique suit that was mostly red with white highlights across it. In front of her was Alpha, wearing a similar suit, which currently had a set of handle grips Omega was holding onto.

"Sounds fun. Everyone, let's show these disgusting Klaxosaurs the power of the Nines." Alpha announced.

"Yeah!" Six voices replied.

Their FRANXX all dashed ahead, causing the sight of two Gutenberg Klaxosaurs to come into view, which prompted the beasts to target the Nines in response. As they began their attacks, the squad divided into two groups of three.

It was during this that each Nines model had one other difference revealed between them, which was the Greek symbols for each pair being shown where their torso was.

Charging ahead, the inside of the Nines model with the symbols for Delta and Epsilon was a girl with light green hair and matching eyes, whose appearance made it obvious she was Ichigo's clone. The one in front of her was a boy with purple hair and grey eyes, and was the clone of Goro.

"Seems like this Klaxosaur is acting very highly of itself." Delta giggled.

"Then let's give it a wakeup call." Epsilon replied.

Rushing ahead, their FRANXX held out its spear and cut through some of its appendages. As it began to stumble, the FRANXX with the symbols for Beta and Eta did the same with the appendages on the opposite side.

Inside of it, Beta was revealed to be to be a boy with light blue hair with grey eyes, being a clone made from both Orochi and Futoshi's DNA.

His partner, Eta, was one of four the quadruplets who were clones of Ikuno, having silvery-white hair and gray eyes, wearing some kind of silver face mask for some unknown reasons. She also held an expression that lacked the same energy as the rest of her squad.

"All yours Gamma, Theta." Beta offered.

"I appreciate the sentiment." Gamma smirked.

Inside Gamma's FRANXX, the sight of him and one of the quadruplets, known as Theta, was seen. Gamma was shown to have deep pink, possibly faint magenta-colored hair that was partially tied near the upper back area, with olive green eyes.

The Parasite made from Mitsuru and Zorome's DNA rushed ahead, ready to destroy the Klaxosaur's core. Sensing it was in danger, the Klaxosaur ejected the part of its body that housed its core, leaving the spear to only pierce through a thick husk.

"Aw, that's no fair!" Delta pouted with puffy cheeks.

"Never thought I'd see a Klaxosaur be so cowardly." Beta remarked.

With the other Klaxosaur, the FRANXX marked with the Iota and Kappa symbols spun its lances as it held back a whip-like appendage with relative ease. Inside, rather than a boy riding as a Pistil and a girl as a Stamen, there was two girls.

Iota, who was made from a combo of Naomi and Kokoro's DNA, was shown to have orange hair that was a combination of theirs. The right of her purple eyes was also hidden by her hair and made her grin look somewhat scary. The other girl was the third of the quadruplets, Kappa.

"What's wrong? Is that all you've got!?" Iota mocked.

As Alpha and Omega's FRANXX circled around to the Klaxosaurs backside, it suddenly stopped as they noticed something, getting the attention of the FRANXX being rode by Lambda and Zeta.

Lambda was a girl with light brunette hair and chocolate brown eyes that strongly resembled Miku, for fairly obvious reasons. Unlike the girl she was cloned from, her expression was much calmer. As for Zeta, she was no different than her sisters, though her eyes seemed to have more life in them.

"Alpha, is something wrong?" Lambda inquired.

"Looks like this Klaxosaur is running away." Alpha replied, almost in a humored tone.

Lambda and Zeta looked up to see the Klaxosaur that had fled from Delta's group.

"Ah, then I bet you'd like to punish it?" She said with a grin.

"Right, so how about you give us a boost?" Omega replied.

Lambda lowered her FRANXX, letting Alpha and Omega's place its legs on it before she spring-boarded them into the sky.

"Time to finish this." Omega stated, a fierce glare on her face.

Swing its lance down, the FRANXX fell and pierced through both Klaxosaurs in an instant, causing explosions of blue goo as two damaged, yellow-colored orbs were seen sliding off of the weapon.

"I'm quite disappointed. For a pair of Gutenberg-Class, they were pathetically weak." Alpha sighed.

"Agreed, perhaps we should ask Papa if he'd let us try fighting a Lehmann-Class next." Omega agreed.

That suggestion caused both of them to smirk.

* * *

Watching this from their meeting room, the members of APE were quite impressed by the strength of their newest squad.

"Despite they failed to inherit any direct Klaxosaur traits or blood, they clearly possess strength similar to that of their originals. In all of our years watching this war, we've never seen a Gutenberg-Class be defeated so easily, much less two." Gorilla praised.

"Regardless if the cloning project as a whole would have yielded results or this was just a lucky instance to what would often fail? It's clear the Nines will become a powerful unit under us, alongside with the hybrid children once they complete their final stages of training." The Vice Chairman agreed, focusing on Alpha and Omega.

He then turned to Papa.

"So, do you think we should humor their request? It would motivate many Parasites if they got word a single squad was strong enough to kill one." He inquired.

Papa was seen briefly looking over something before he turned to answer.

"The Lehmann-Class that destroyed Plantation 9 is still alive. If they were to kill it, then it would serve as a proper introduction. However, we will have to put that aside for a while. I currently have plans for the Nines to visit the Bird Nest for a checkup." Papa answered.

"So, you plan to have the clones meet their originals? I can't help but think you have a devious reason behind that." Marmoset remarked.

"More like a way to start a rivalry. After all, the Nines are guided by us, while the hybrids by Doctor Franxx. I'm just curious to see how such a competition pushes the growth of both." Papa revealed.

The screen he was looking over soon showed the current location of said hybrids, which wasn't the Bird Nest.

* * *

Ocean waves could be heard as the Pack was seen rushing outside of a ship, with Nana watching from the ship.

"Make sure you don't leave the area below the cloud cover's gap!" She warned, referring to the blue in the sky.

"We will!" Everyone replied.

Normally, being outside for any reason without a FRANXX or a ride was suicide. Luckily, since the Klaxosaur Princess and Doctor Franxx were allies, this concern was no problem at all.

However, that forced them, Nana, and Hachi to try thinking of a convincing lie to explain why it was safe to visit the beach. Ultimately, it took a Klaxosaur blasting through the normally cloud covered sky and create a gap that Klaxosaurs apparently _avoided_ for some reason.

They were so lucky the children believed the lie, or at least didn't question it so they could visit the beach.

"One, two... three!"

Goro and Orochi pushed a large umbrella up after planting in the sound, letting out a tired breath from it.

"Darling, come on!" Zero Two smiled, grabbing Hiro's hand.

"Whoa! Zero Two, slow down!" Hiro replied, nearly tripping.

All of the boys were seen wearing swim trunks, while the girls were wearing incredibly revealing bikinis. If the boys didn't have their intention elsewhere, they would probably be blushing like tomatoes.

"Ocean, here we come!" Futoshi and Zorome exclaimed.

"Never thought I'd see Futoshi act so childish..." Miku said, surprised at the sight.

"Considering where we are? I don't blame him." Ikuno remarked, reading a book.

"Same here, though for different reasons." Orochi agreed.

Everyone soon saw him lying on his back, with Naomi burying his lower half in it.

"What are you-" Ichigo asked.

"It seems people used to bury people in the sand, and it looks like Orochi feels comfortable in it, so why not?" Naomi answered.

Shortly after saying that, Orochi began snoring, surprising everyone.

"Did he really just fall asleep because of the sand?" Mitsuru questioned.

"It can't be that relaxing, can it?" Naomi wondered, looking at it.

Goro soon entered the water, swimming towards where Futoshi and Zorome were currently floating.

As they floated on the tranquil waters, they saw Kokoro and Miku, with the former holding a beach ball.

"Here I go!" Kokoro shouted.

"Bring it!" Miku replied.

"OK, ready? And... there!" She replied, hitting the ball.

As she hit it, her breasts bounced for a moment.

"The beach is pretty great, don't you think?" Futoshi asked, blushing at the sight.

"Is it just me, or are the girls 50% cuter than normal?" Zorome asked, also blushing.

He was focused on Miku as she hit the ball back, or more specifically, her butt.

'Why can't I look away!?' He asked himself.

"Maybe it's because those swimsuits show off their bodies more than their clothes do?" Goro suggested, suddenly besides the duo.

Zorome and Futoshi screamed in surprise.

"Don't do that!" They both shouted.

"What the hell!? Are you saying I'm not allowed to enjoy this view?" Goro questioned, looking annoyed.

Kokoro and Miku screamed, getting their attention. Somehow, the two had crashed into each other.

"Are you alright Miku?" Kokoro asked.

"Sorry, I was looking up the whole time." Miku apologized.

At that moment, the string on her top half started to slip.

"Miku, that string's coming undone!" Kokoro warned.

"Oh no, could you tie it back up for me!" Miku panicked, putting her hands over her chest.

Those words made the three huddle together.

"All hail the glorious beach!" They screamed.

Everyone heard them screaming, though not what they were screaming about. It was enough that even Orochi woke up.

"What happened? Did someone drown?" He asked.

"No, I think some of the boys are just being... well, boys." Naomi answered.

"Of course they are..." Orochi replied, giving them a deadpan look.

With Hiro and Zero Two, the former felt himself getting splashed by Zero Two, leaving him without any changes to retaliate.

"Take that Darling!" She laughed.

He laughed, only able to guard himself from her splashes.

"Looks like Hiro could use a hand." Futoshi realized.

"Time for a sneak attack!" Zorome announced.

All three of them dived under, and swam around Zero Two, grabbing her feet. She noticed this and looked down.

"I've got you now!" Hiro smiled.

Zero Two was soon hit by a strong splash, making her fall into the water.

Hiro soon saw the boys surface.

"And that's how you sneak attack!" Zorome announced.

Zero Two soon surfaced, giving a playful smirk at the three.

"Oh, now you're gonna get it!" She shouted.

She soon kicked the water, sending a large splash towards the three, making Hiro and Zero Two laugh at the sight.

"Looks like they're having fun." Ichigo smiled.

"Yeah, seems so." Naomi agreed.

After a moment, Naomi noticed Orochi walking past her, his face saying he was looking for something.

"Orochi, is something wrong?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just noticed Mitsuru seems to have vanished. Does anyone know where he is?" Orochi replied.

That caught everyone's attention, especially Kokoro, who suddenly gained a worried expression.

"Crap, he didn't get lost in the water, did he?" Ichigo wondered.

"Hey guys, did you see Mitsuru go in the water!?" Miku shouted, calling out to those currently swimming.

All of them stopped.

"I haven't seen him, have you guys?" Hiro asked.

"He was on the beach last I saw him." Goro replied.

"We didn't see him underwater either, at least around this area." Zorome recalled.

Everyone began to worry, but before the Pack could fall into a very justified panic?

"Hey guys, over here!" Mitsuru shouted.

Hearing his voice, everyone looked to see Mitsuru standing near some crack in the nearby cliff face.

"I found something you won't believe unless you see it!" He continued.

* * *

Now wearing white beach jackets, everyone followed Mitsuru into the path going through the cliff.

"Before we get any further, make sure you don't go anywhere by yourselves. I'm not sure how safe everything will be." Mitsuru warned.

"Like walking in here is any safer?" Orochi replied.

Zorome looked around with excitement.

"Either way, this feels like some kind of exploration! Lead the way Mitsuru!" He exclaimed.

Miku sighed at that.

After walking for a while longer, everyone saw what Mitsuru found.

"What... what is this?" Naomi asked.

"Whoa..." Miku breathed, similarly shocked.

It was the ruins of an old Human city.

"Guys, is it just me, or does this make you think of Mistilteinn?" Futoshi asked, getting a bad feeling from the sight.

"I think that's because people might have lived here once." Hiro suggested.

"That was my first thought. The threat of the Klaxosaurs is the reason why we live in the Plantations, but shouldn't that mean also places like this were completely destroyed as a result?" Mitsuru replied, showing some uncertainty.

Orochi looked at a nearby pole, and rubbed his finger across it, finding a layer of dust.

"Maybe it survived due to nothing but pure luck? Since the Klaxosaurs go after Humanity, any place without people living in it wouldn't concerned them." Orochi suggested.

He flicked the dust off his finger.

"If not that, maybe this place was already abandoned before the Klaxosaurs came." He added.

As he said that, everyone heard Zorome gasp.

Following his eyes, they saw what looked like their boarding house, only with years of age leaving it in poor shape and plants growing over it.

"No way, that looks like our boarding house." Miku stated.

"Perhaps it was what ours was based off of?" Ikuno realized.

Hiro looked around before turning to everyone.

"I'm starting to get the feeling Doctor Franxx wanted us to find this place, so we should probably look around." He suggested.

"After seeing all of this, I'm certain all of us are too curious to walk away." Goro replied.

Everyone began to look around, splitting into groups of four that went West, North, and South.

* * *

The future pilots of Chlorophytum and Argentea went inside the replica of their boarding house, noticing how similar they were. Despite not being identical, it was clear that parts of the building had inspired the design of their home.

"OK, this place has gone from mysterious to incredibly creepy..." Miku said, feeling her throat go dry.

"Hello, is there anyone here!" Zorome shouted.

No response followed, confirming the building was empty.

"That answers the question if some people were managing to live here." Ikuno stated, spotting the stairs.

She turned to everyone.

"Zorome, Miku? Try seeing if you can find anything upstairs. While we're here, we should try finding any information that we can." She suggested.

"What about you and me?" Futoshi asked.

"We'll do the same on this level. I'm not trying to insult your weight, but I don't trust the stairs will hold you after how much they've aged." Ikuno explained.

Futoshi looked at the stairs, hearing them creaking as Zorome took a step.

"Yeah, I don't feel like risking that either..." He agreed, slowly backing away from them.

He soon turned around.

"So, where should we look first?" Futoshi asked.

"Not sure, but let's make sure to look everywhere." Ikuno replied.

With that, both pairs began their search.

* * *

The future pilots for Genista and Hibiscus found themselves at what looked to be a clinic.

"So, this is what medical centers used to look like." Orochi asked, his eyes shining at the sight.

"It looks like age hasn't been kind to it." Naomi noticed.

Compared to the copy of their boarding house, this clinic looked like it could fall apart any second. That prompted Orochi to walk in first, glancing around as he made sure it was safe enough to walk through.

"OK, I think we're in the clear." He whispered.

The others followed, with Orochi looking at a room full of old medicine, looking guilty at all the expired medication that was wasted away.

"How many lives could these have saved if they had gotten to see any use?" He asked himself, tightening his free hand into a fist.

"Orochi, by any chance... did you come in here because-" Naomi asked.

"Very few squads have medical knowledge. After what happened to my old nursery, I knew this was what I wanted to bring into whatever squad I ended up in." He confirmed.

He let out a deep breath.

"And maybe, when I became an adult? I could reduce how many children would disappear." Orochi added.

Naomi put a hand on his back.

As this was happening, Kokoro felt herself step on something, noticing a book underneath her foot. Picking it up, she brushed off the dirt to see what it was about, leaving her confused.

"A baby?" She said to herself.

Mitsuru turned around, and his eyes widened as he noticed part of the ceiling starting to move.

"Kokoro!" He shouted.

She looked up to see that part of the roof break down, letting out a gasp before Mitsuru pulled her out of the way. This ended up with them on the floor... and Mitsuru's hand ended up touching Kokoro in a spot he didn't mean to.

She blushed from it, and he quickly moved away, suddenly unable to look her in the eye.

"B-Be careful, that could happen again if you're not careful." He warned, blushing heavily.

"Right, and... thank you for saving me." Kokoro replied.

Orochi quickly grabbed all he could, stuffing into the beach bag he was given by Nana.

"Come on, let's hurry and get out before anything else happens." He stated.

* * *

Finally, the future pilots of Strelitzia and Delphinium were seen in what looked to have been the center of town, where all the entertainment was gathered.

"It looks like this place has a lot of the things we'd normally ask Papa for." Ichigo realized.

"That must mean the idea of asking us for gifts came from places like this. " Goro realized, looking at similar shops.

Hiro soon noticed some kind of paper on the wall.

"What is it Darling? Did you find something interesting?" Zero Two asked, walking by him.

Her eyes quickly met with the paper, which said _The Beat of a Kiss_ on it, which was familiar.

"Kiss?" She said.

"I think we saw this in the Beast and the Prince, it was when they put their mouths together during the page showing their wedding." Hiro recalled.

Ichigo and Goro heard him say that, while Ichigo suddenly touched her mouth.

'Why does this make me feel so weird? I mean, don't we already use our mouths for eating, talking, and breathing without any problem?' She thought.

However, thinking that made her realizing something.

All three of those things? They only required one person.

"Ah!" She suddenly screamed.

"Ichigo?" Goro said in surprise.

"Sorry, for some reason hearing about that made me feel weird." Ichigo apologized, blushing like a tomato.

Zero Two had similar thoughts, but rather than stressing her out? It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

'A kiss... marriage... love... what do these things mean?' She asked herself.

Around that time, the rest of the Pack walked into the area, having begun to regroup a while ago.

"Hey, what did all of you find!?" Zorome shouted.

Hiro turned as he saw the others approaching them.

"We're not entirely sure, but it seems like these buildings carry a bunch of presents." Goro answered.

"Seriously!?" He exclaimed.

Zorome rushed down to look, with Orochi soon following to try looking through them.

"Finding useful info in this area might be hard..." He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Still, he went inside to try and find something.

* * *

Time passed until finally, the sun began to set.

Everyone stood near the cliff face, watching the sun from the perfect spot as they took a moment to rest from all their walking.

"Say, is it just me, or do you all wish you could stay out here?" Zorome asked.

"It isn't, I feel that way too. It's like now that we know what's outside of Mistilteinn... it feels so small now. No, it's more like now it's clear we live in a cage." Ikuno replied.

Zero Two stared at the sun.

"Darling and I already knew that, ever since we tried running away all those years ago." She stated.

Everyone looked at her with surprise, with Hiro simply shared the sad feeling he could sense from her.

"However, that's not the worst of it." She continued.

"What do you mean?" Kokoro asked.

"Seeing all of this, it feels like I'm sensing the sorrow left behind by the people who once lived here. Almost as if I can sense every other place like this one throughout the world." Zero Two explained, feeling her eyes tear up.

Orochi turned his head slightly, knowing exactly how that felt whenever he passed through Nursery 6 after the other children disappeared.

After a moment, he saw the sun start to disappear.

"Hey guys, we should get back before it's too dark to find the beach." He warned.

"Crap, he's right. We should hurry." Hiro realized.

They quickly returned to the beach before they ran out of light to guide their way.

* * *

By the time they made it back, Nana had brought a grill, and was trying to find them.

"Hey Nana!" Naomi waved.

She turned around to see them, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Exactly why couldn't I see you?" She inquired, raising an eye.

"We were looking for seashells." Orochi lied.

Nana didn't believe that for a second, but figured that Doctor Franxx may have wanted them somewhere, so she didn't bother exposing said lie.

"Well, now that you're all here, why don't you start a fire for the marshmallows while I get this grill working." Nana suggested.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Futoshi exclaimed.

It wasn't long before everyone began cooking up marshmallows and putting food on the grill.

"I didn't even notice I was hungry until seeing all of this." Mitsuru stated, biting into a skewer.

Miku soon filled her stomach, letting out a yawn.

"Man, I'm stuffed!" She smiled, laying on Zorome's lap.

"M-Miku! Everyone's staring!" He shouted, blushing slightly.

"After all the walking we did, I don't give a damn. Besides, right now I've got the lap, and everyone else is jealous." She smirked.

Futoshi definitely was, since he knew Ikuno had no intention of that, though Orochi actively inched away from Naomi in response.

"No, I'm drawing a line there." He stated, clearly looking uncomfortable.

"I... wasn't going to ask." Naomi replied, a sweat drop forming on her face.

Hiro looked out towards the ocean.

"Hey guys, do you think Humanity could ever return to the surface?" He asked.

"If we beat the Klaxosaurs, it could be possible, but the damage might be too big." Mitsuru replied.

"Most of the world is a desert. How would we be able to live in such an environment?" Naomi added.

"The adults seem fine in the Plantations, maybe the Parasites could live there. They're already used to being kept separate from the adults." Orochi guessed.

Hiro listened, unsure of what to say.

"Maybe that's it!" Zorome realized, looking towards the sky.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"We don't know what the adults are doing, so what if they're working on a way to fix that? They're somehow ale to provide food to all of us! If they can do that, then maybe it's because they've been learning how to fix everything once there aren't any Klaxosaurs to ruin it!" He suggested.

"That... sounds like a large guess without any basis, but whatever floats your boat." Orochi shrugged.

Zorome briefly glared at him, then looked at Hiro.

"Come on, you think it's possible, don't you? Our leader's gotta believe in that!" He asked.

"Leader?" Hiro repeated in surprise.

"What, is it strange to call you that?" Zorome asked.

Hiro was left speechless.

"I agree. The Pack wouldn't even exist if you hadn't met Zero Two, and then chose all of us to join you. Saying you aren't our later is like saying Klaxosaurs are itty bitty." Miku agreed, smiling at him.

"We always believed you'd lead our squad before you met Zero Two." Goro admitted.

"Always seemed inevitable to me, Darling." Zero Two smiled.

Hiro felt his eyes widen, making him look at Nana, who giggled slightly.

"Hachi and I were going to tell you tomorrow, but... I guess there's no harm in confirming they're right. You're the one Doctor Franxx has decided to be the leader." She confirmed.

With those words, Hiro smiled and looked at everyone.

"Thanks everyone, it means a lot. I'll make sure to do my best." He promised.

Everyone cheered at that.

* * *

Soon, the fire was out, with everyone in sleeping bags. The only one awake was Ichigo, who couldn't fall asleep for some reason.

She kept staring towards the sea until a sudden sound caught her attention, making her see Hiro getting out of his sleeping bag.

"Oh, sorry about that. Did I wake you?" He apologized.

"No, I couldn't get sleep either." Ichigo reassured him.

He soon stood on his feet, holding out a hand to her, surprising her slightly.

"If we can't sleep, then let's take a walk." Hiro offered, smiling at her.

That surprised Ichigo, but she accepted.

Before long, they began walking near the edge where the sand and water met, neither saying a word at first. However, as Ichigo began walking on his footsteps in the sand?

"Hey, Hiro! Look at all the stars!" She exclaimed.

Hiro stopped and did so, smiling at the sight.

"You're right, I even see Orion up there." He realized.

"I remember that one, you told me it's the most prominent Winter constellation, right?" Ichigo asked.

"That's right. Although, I didn't tell you everything about it." Hiro answered.

Ichigo looked at him, wondering what he meant by that.

"The 15th star is called the Ichigo star, which is so dim, it can be heard to spot with the naked eye. It's why I decided to make it your name, since you felt almost invisible at the time." Hiro admitted.

That surprised Ichigo slightly, and on one hand? It meant he put a lot of thought into her name. However, on the other hand...

"What the hell, so you were already saying I had no chance with you back then?" She replied, without even thinking.

At least, not until she realized what she said and panicked.

"No, wait! Don't pay attention to that! I-I mean... that wasn't... no, I mean that's..." She stuttered, blushing madly.

"Goro already told me." He admitted.

Ichigo stopped at that, looking surprised.

"And how hard it was for you to let go, but you ultimately did for Zero Two's sake. It takes courage to do something like that." Hiro continued.

"I see... glad you told me that." Ichigo replied, somewhat quietly.

"If it's any consolation, even if I can't love in that way. There is another way I do. Because after all we've gone through, you're like a sister to me." Hiro admitted.

Hearing that, Ichigo felt her eyes widen.

She had no idea why. It was something that really made it sound like she could have never been with him romantically, but after having to accept that already? Hearing that was a form of comfort that removed a heavy weight from her chest.

It wasn't long before Hiro saw her shedding some tears, not noticing her smile.

"I-Ichigo? Crap, was saying that too much!?" He panicked.

"You idiot, I'm happy. Hearing that I'm special to you at all... that's enough for me." She replied, letting him finally see her smile.

Hiro let out a sigh of relief, and at that same moment.

"Look, shooting stars!" He exclaimed.

Ichigo turned to see them, gasping at the sight, which somehow caused everyone to wake up as they saw them.

It was almost like they were rays of hope representing them. As a result, everyone wished on that hope that night.

That light would reward them, because it was the one light that could never fade away.

* * *

_Zero Two and Hiro were shown being knocked back as a Klaxosaur struck their FRANXX, making both of scream as they tumbled across the ground._

_"Damn it..." Hiro grunted._

_'Darling, he needs my help... I have to help him!' Zero Two thought, gritting her teeth._

_At that moment, she brought out her Klaxosaur side, causing her skin to become red._

_However, the moment that she did that... a sudden pain enveloped her, and then she felt a message start to echo through her head._

_"It is time for you to lose yourself and turn into an ugly monster." 001 spoke._

_As these words appeared, the image of the Witch in her story began manifesting in her mind, right before she let out a feral roar and her eyes completely transform into a red glow. Hiro screamed as he was enveloped by her growing mass of horns that became almost like long antlers._

_The FRANXX they rode turned into the form of an animal, and began slaughtering the other members of Pack, with their own FRANXX only acting as a temporary shield._

_"No... stop this, please!" She begged._

_She roared once more right as Hiro's eyes closed and his voice faded. Zero Two suddenly returned to normal, then turned around as tears flowed from her eyes._

_Feeling them widen, a loud scream released itself from her throat._

* * *

Her eyes opened as she gasped, realizing she was in her and Hiro's room.

Looking in front of her, she saw her Darling was still alive and unharmed, but rather than accept it was just a dream? Zero Two began to let out heavy breaths, and looked at her Beast and the Prince book.

"That line..." Zero Two whispered to herself.

She walked towards it and opened to the one page, feeling herself breathing heavily as she saw the complete match, and then... screamed as she tossed it at the wall, which caused the window to shatter. The sound immediately woke Hiro up, making him see Zero Two on the floor, making crying sounds as she did.

"Zero Two? Hey, Zero Two!" He shouted, rushing over to her.

Feeling her Darling's hands hug her, she hugged him back tightly, crying into his chest. Hiro wasn't sure what was wrong, but right now? He realized it was best that he didn't ask her anything, so he just held her closer, letting her cry out her troubles.

* * *

That following morning, everyone was gathered in front of the Bird Nest, causing them to notice the distant look on Zero Two's face.

"What happened to her? Usually, I'm the one with that expression." Orochi asked.

"I'm not sure of the details, but it seems like she had bad nightmare." Hiro replied.

Hearing that made the Pack go pale, knowing that with how energetic Zero Two usually was, hearing that a nightmare left her this way meant it had to be _terrifying_.

"Ahem." Nana coughed.

They all shifted their focus forward, with Zero Two lifting her head, as they saw Nana and Hachi standing before them.

"Everyone, try to keep focus." Nana asked.

"For what exactly? You just told us we'd need to come down here for a test, and that it wasn't optional." Futoshi asked, looking slightly nervous.

"That's because your final test isn't optional." Hachi answered.

Zero Two flinched as the others all felt their eyes widen.

"Final test? As in... the last before we get to pilot a FRANXX!?" Zorome asked.

"Yes, all that's left is for you to have your health checked and then prove you can pilot. After that, the Pack will officially take its place as one of APE's elite squads." Hachi confirmed.

Zorome let out a loud scream of excitement, causing his fellow squad mates and their two caretakers to cover their ears in response.

"Zorome, shut up already!" Miku screamed, slamming his head with her fist.

"Ow! Miku, you didn't have to hit me!" He shouted, feeling his noggin swell up.

At that moment, a hearty chuckle entered everyone's ears as they turned to see a group walk into view, revealing themselves as none other than the Nines. Rather than the standard Parasite uniform the Pack wore, they had uniforms styled after APE's robes.

"So, this is the so-called Pack? Quite the coincidence in running into you here at the same time we're getting our checkup." Alpha remarked.

"I disagree. Considering the timing, it seems more like Papa set things up, so we'd be guaranteed meet them." Omega replied with a smirk.

The way they spoke made the Pack feel a strange chill.

"Who are these people?" Kokoro asked, looking at Nana.

"Right, I guess you should know, since you'll be working with them on occasion." Nana realized.

She turned before holding a handout towards them.

"Everyone, these are the Nines, one of the elite squads that works under APE." Nana revealed.

After saying that, the Pack quickly looked at their numbers compared to their name.

"Uh... but, there are 12 of them." Naomi mentioned.

"Unless those four who resemble each other are some kind of hive mind." Orochi remarked, scared at his own idea.

Delta puffed her cheeks before a laugh escaped from her mouth.

"The quadruplets having a hive mind! Oh man, that's a good one!" Delta replied, now holding her stomach.

"The name can be somewhat misleading. We were named in honor of the destroyed Plantation 9, which Papa has told us played a big role in our unique development." Epsilon explained.

"Oh, that makes more sense." Orochi realized.

Hearing that, Omega let out a playful giggle.

"We aren't the only unique squad that has a meaningful name. After all, no one would understand why you call yourselves the Pack unless they knew of your... special blood." She replied.

Hiro's eyes widened at that, while the others nearly froze.

"They know about that?" Hiro asked, looking at Hachi.

"Since you'll be working as a direct squad under Papa, there wasn't any reason to hide that information from them." Hachi answered.

Before Hiro realized it, Alpha's face and his were incredibly close.

"You must be the infamous 016 we've heard about. Tell me, how exactly did you manage to tame 002's wild nature?" He asked with interest.

"What do you mean by tame her?" Hiro asked, a tinge of anger in his face.

"I agree, back off." Ichigo stated, though her anger was more visible than Hiro's.

Omega looked at her with interest.

"Hmm, with a personality like that, she must have taken a liking to all of you. After all, something wild would prefer others just as untamed." She remarked.

Ichigo felt a vein form on her forehead.

"And I see your squad, if not every member of the special forces, doesn't know basic etiquette. Makes me glad that Hiro chose to bring me into his squad, rather than be part of yours." She replied.

Delta gave a deadpan look at Ichigo as she said this, though the latter never noticed, while Alpha gave a playful laugh.

"You truly are different from other Parasites, and not just because of your unique nature. I have a feeling fighting alongside you will be interesting. As such, allow me to show my respect." He replied.

No one knew what he meant by that, until Alpha took Ichigo's hand... and kissed it.

She went red from it, making her uncomfortable enough to slap him in the face.

"You're a creep!" Ichigo screamed.

Nana quickly realized that tensions were starting to rise, and cleared her throat.

"Nines, I believe you shouldn't delay your checkup any longer. Not only that, but the Pack is on a schedule, so we can't let you take any more of their time away." She stated.

"Ah, our apologies for that. Feel free to get going." Omega apologized.

Hachi said nothing and walked ahead, with Nana and the Pack following shortly after. Once they were out of sight... Omega's expression became a scowl as she bit one of her fingernails.

"To think our own clones would talk back to us like that. It's infuriating." She hissed.

"015 was so boring too. Am I really supposed to be her clone?" Delta questioned.

"Now, now. Let's behave ourselves. After all, we'll be working together after today, so let's avoid doing anything to upset Papa." Alpha remind them.

Omega scowled more.

"Omega, that especially means you. We don't want our numbers to be affected by being on different pages." He added.

"Fine, I'll try tolerating them." She reluctantly agreed.

Alpha smiled at that, and the Nines headed towards their checkup.

* * *

The first stage of their final Parasite test had everyone's health checked by scanning their bodies, monitoring their heart rates and blood pressure, and even having some of their blood taken to examine it.

Once all of that was done, they had to go through the most annoying and (to the girls at least) awkward part of the test.

"Ugh! Someone... tell my why they... made these so... tight!" Miku begged, nearly wincing as she put on special underwear.

She gave one last pull, and-

*"SLAP!"*

A loud scream escaped her mouth, making the other girls jump slightly.

"I think I gave myself a wedgie..." She winced, rubbing her poor behind.

"Hopefully we'll get used to these outfits soon enough. I'm already nervous about using the training unit." Kokoro admitted.

"Ugh, same problem here. Just the thought of it makes me uncomfortable." Ikuno agreed.

Inside an area blocked by a wall of purple light, which had wording that mentioned only a Parasites was allowed access, Zero Two was already inside one of multiple pods. She closed her eyes as a light rose from her feet to her head and put her in the same suits the Nines had worn.

However, unlike theirs, hers was white and black with red highlights, with more white than black. Not only that, but the red on her highlights was a bright red compared to the darker shade of red on the Nines' suits.

"OK, this is-" Zero Two remarked.

Before she could finish, the pod attached something to her back, making her wince slightly as it was pushed until it basically stuck to her backside. Following that, she felt the floor rise up and attach some kind of heels to her feet.

"Miku, I don't think getting a wedgie sounds too bad anymore..." She stated, feeling her eye twitch.

Miku paled at those words.

It didn't take long for the others to have their suits put on in the same manner, feeling equal levels of discomfort during the process. It was during this that the highlights for each of their suits was decided on their horn colors.

"I'd rather get used to both of those." Naomi admitted, feeling a little stiff.

"Same here." Miku agreed.

A beeping sound was heard from part of the room, getting the girls' attention.

"Everyone, head to the debriefing room once you're ready." Nana announced.

With those words, all of them headed to the debriefing room, finding the boys already present. Their Parasite suits were fairly similar to theirs, but had more black than white, and the same colored highlights as their respective Pistils.

"Good, we're all here. Now, normally, we'd have all of you use a training unit before we'd put you in an actual FRANXX... though that's not the case here." Hachi began.

"As in we're skipping straight to the real deal?" Goro asked.

"That's right. Now, since Hiro is the leader of your squad, I want him and Zero Two to go first." He confirmed, looking at the duo.

Zero Two felt her eyes widen for a moment.

"Now, since we can't do anything more in here, let's head over to the hangar." Hachi continued.

Everyone was led into the hangar, where they saw the six FRANXX that were theirs to use. Upon seeing them, everyone was amazed at their designs, especially with how they actually resembled the flowers they had chosen.

"Normally I'd scream, but this is actually leaving me speechless." Zorome admitted.

"Which we're thankful for." Miku said, feeling relieved he didn't scream.

Hachi turned around to face the Pack, getting their attention as a light appeared over one of the FRANXX, looking specifically towards Naomi and Orochi.

With the light shining, its full details came into view. It was mostly black, having yellow highlights that matched Naomi's horns, with tubs under her arms that connected with the arms having what looked to be halves of a cannon when put together. On both sides of its wrist were currently folded wing-like extensions that seemed to look like antlers if one looked at them from a certain angle.

"This is Hibiscus, a FRANXX that focuses on sniping with arrows of Magma energy, and also has powerful shields on its arms to protect itself while aiming. It also uses a scope system to help it with aiming." Hachi explained.

"Oh, so those aren't two halves of a cannon on its arms, but where the arrows generate from?" Orochi asked, taking another look at them.

"Correct, with the wings themselves acting as the bow's frame and string." Hachi confirmed.

The light soon switched to the next FRANXX.

"This is Chlorophytum, a FRANXX that unleashes quick fire or beam attacks, and has incredible speeds so it's able to move around during fire if needed. Because Ikuno wears glasses, we gave it a visor to help focus her vision should they get destroyed during a battle."

The light moved once again.

"This is Genista, a FRANXX that uses a powerful cannon, which can also be safely used at pointblank range, and has strong armor. It's cannon also has a bayonet attached to it for destroying cores if needed. Genista also eject its extra armor if needed, transforming it into what we call Light Armor mode, trading defense for a large boost of speed."

And then it moved a third time.

"This is Argentea, a FRANXX that has claws as its sole weapon, and is incredibly fast. Despite what that implies, it's no less durable than the other FRANXX, and its claws are able to cut through most attacks that could endanger it."

Zero Two felt herself shaking as the light was only one movement away from the robot she and her Darling would be piloting.

"This is Delphinium, a close-ranged FRANXX that wields spear-like swords that can be fired out like javelins or combined into a double-sided spear. They can also be extended, but be warned that if ejected, they need to be reclaimed manually."

Finally, the last movement of the light happened.

"And this is Strelitzia, the strongest FRANXX among these six. It uses a lance that works like a harpoon. It also possesses incredible strength that could hold back a Klaxosaur, and its durability can let last longer. Basically, to sum it up in Doctor Franxx's words, Strelitzia is his greatest masterpiece."

Everyone sweat dropped at that.

'Wow, way to make all of us feel like extras...' They all thought.

"Alright then. Hiro, Zero Two, are you ready?" Nana inquired.

Hiro looked at Zero Two.

"If you don't feel ready, we can wait until-" He offered.

"N-No, I'm fine! I can do it!" She replied, almost shouting.

That caught the Pack's attention, and even Hiro could tell she wasn't being honest, but since he couldn't say anything without moving all eyes on her? He had no choice but to accept, despite the problems it might cause.

"OK." He nodded.

Everyone watched as they were brought up to Strelitzia's head, which opened up to reveal the controls. Once they were inside, Nana appeared on a monitor.

"Here's how this works. Zero Two, you'll need to lay down as if you were crawling, then connect your hands and feet onto the respective ends." She explained.

"Got it." Zero Two replied.

Positioning herself, she felt her body link to Strelitzia, but not entirely. Part of the device on her back soon moved over her head like a helmet, while part of her suit's leggings unfolded to reveal they were handles.

"Hiro, this is where you come in. While the Pistil's job is to link with the FRANXX and make it capable of moving, you'll need to pilot Strelitzia yourself, since the strain will be too great for Zero Two." Nana continued.

Hiro nodded, sitting in the chair as he gripped the handles, causing parts of the suit's device to light up and show a screen showing two different percentages. One for him, and another for Zero Two.

"What's this screen?" He asked.

"That's your Paracapacity, or another way to put it, the stability of your connection. You need to be synced at around 50% for a FRANXX to move. A positive reading from a Stamen won't work on its own, and if you only have the negative reading from a Pistil..." Hachi explained.

Silence followed.

"Well, let's just say it's best you try not to use it, just like Doctor Franxx tells you not to transform into your Full Klaxosaur state if you can." He warned.

Zero Two froze at that, causing her numbers to drop slightly.

"Careful Zero Two, your numbers are dropping." Hachi warned.

"Sorry, guess you just spooked me with what you just said." She apologized, trying to keep calm.

Everyone soon saw part of the walls open as Strelitzia was pushed towards it, still in an inactive state.

"Wait for our signal before you fully sync up." Nana warned.

Hiro and Zero Two waited, and once Strelitzia was fully outside the hanger?

"Alright, sync up now." Hachi stated.

"Got it!" Hiro and Zero Two replied.

The walls began to sparkle, showing red screens stating Strelitzia was activated, causing the blank face of the FRANXX to sparkle as well. Soon enough, the sight of eyes and a mouth appeared, with the walls inside showing what the eyes could see.

Once Hiro and Zero Two had fully realized what happened, the FRANXX raised her arms as she looked at them.

"Incredible..." Strelitzia said, using Zero Two's voice.

"Hey guys, what does it feel like in there!?" Zorome asked.

Hiro tried to reply, only to feel something tingling through his head, getting his attention. It was then everyone noticed Strelitzia was frozen.

"Uh... did they not hear us, or am I missing something?" He asked.

"Strelitzia, please respond." Hachi requested through a speaker.

There was still no response, though it was then that Strelitzia began to shake like she was trembling in place.

"No, stop talking..." Zero Two whispered.

"Zero Two? What's wrong?" Hiro asked, starting to worry.

She began breathing heavily.

"_It is time for you to lose yourself and turn into an ugly monster._" 001 warned.

Those words kept echoing, as if invading her mind and trying to take over.

"Stop talking!" Zero Two screamed.

With that, her numbers suddenly rose to a dangerous level.

**"Warning! Strelitzia is about to enter Stampede Mode!"**

That caught everyone's attention.

"Stampede Mode?" Ichigo repeated.

Strelitzia screamed out Zero Two's voice before suddenly transformed into the form of a Lion.

"Hiro, push Zero Two off the console immediately! She needs to disconnect!" Nana shouted.

Not knowing what else to do, Hiro let go of the handles and pushed her off. While Strelitzia stayed in her Stampede Mode, all of her movements had ceased, marked by all of her normally lit areas going dark.

Zero Two didn't even notice what had happened, just curling up and whimpering as she held onto her head, causing Hiro to kneel by her.

"Zero Two, what's wrong!?" He asked.

His words didn't reach her. It was as if all she could hear was the words repeating in her mind.

*"BLARE!"*

Alarms went off throughout the entire Bird Nest, surprising everyone.

"The alarm? What's going on?" Nana asked.

"I have a bad feeling this and Zero Two's current state are no coincidence..." Hachi replied, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his cheek.

Nana looked at him, gasping slightly.

*"CRASH!"*

Their fears were soon proven true when the sight of a transport was seen. However, it wasn't the transport that scared everyone, but what had somehow managed to ride on it.

As the transport tipped over it, a powerful set of jaws bit into it before was completely devoured, revealing a Mohorovicc-Class Klaxosaur as the culprit. It let out a loud roar, then began charging towards the Bird Nest.

"A Klaxosaur!" Someone screamed.

"No way, the Bird Nest is supposed to be in one of the locations where no Klaxosaurs can invade!" Another panicked.

The Pack's members looked worried, while Hachi and Nana began sweating.

"We don't have any way to explain why it did, but it used that Transport to get in here." Hachi realized.

He looked at the Pack.

"Everyone! Get in your FRANXX, right now! They're the only ones we currently have to repel it!" He ordered.

Despite it didn't hear him, the Klaxosaur managed to time its next attack perfectly, opening its mouth and unleashing a beam in their direction. An explosion went off as part of the building shook.

The Pack screamed as the hangar lost all power, leaving the others without a means to reach their FRANXX.

"We're sitting ducks here!" Goro shouted.

As this was happening, the Klaxosaur Princess saw through the Mohorovicc-Class' eyes, confirming that only one hope now remained for everyone. The hope that Hiro could reach Zero Two and get Strelitzia moving again.

"_I've left the message that will torment your thoughts. Now, with such a horrible possibility in your mind... will you be able to fight, or show my hopes are meaningless?_" 001 wondered, sending her next command as she did.

The Mohorovicc-Class raised its head up, causing its tail to unfold and reveal its true shape, which resembled a generator.

* * *

From within Strelitzia, Hiro saw everything was happening, and quickly realized began to shake Zero Two.

"Come on, Zero Two! Snap out of it! If you don't, everyone's going to die!" He begged.

"No... stop, don't... don't make me... turn into a monster!" Zero Two begged, starting to cry.

He began sweating, and then closed his eyes.

*"SLAP!"*

Zero Two gasped as she held her cheek, no longer hearing 001's message as she looked at Hiro, who was panting and had a few tears in his eyes. Even if it was necessary, to hit her for any reason made him feel awful.

"D-Darling?" She said.

"Zero Two, you're OK!?" He shouted, hugging her.

However, she pushed him away.

"No, don't touch me! If you do, I'll end up... I'll-" She cried.

Hiro cupped her face.

"Zero Two, please! Talk to me! If something's troubling you, please tell me!" He begged.

"I... I..." Zero Two stuttered.

She began crying as she looked at him.

"I'm afraid to ride in Strelitzia, or any FRANXX for that matter! If I do... what if I end up like the Princess in that story and devour you!?" Zero Two admitted.

"Huh?" Hiro blinked.

Suddenly, he understood _everything_.

The broken window... the Beast and the Prince story on the floor... how he saw her after he woke up... and how unusually quiet she had been all day?

Whatever her nightmare was, it ended with her killing him. She hadn't experienced such a horror since meeting him, and as a result, it left her shaken.

"That's impossible." Hiro replied, smiling at her.

"How... how can you say that?" Zero Two asked.

"Because if anything, I'm the one that became a monster when I ingested your blood! Now, you and I are the same, and that's why we can do this together! Now, we're truly even!" He answered.

She felt herself tearing up as she heard those words, but this time, it wasn't out of sadness or fear.

"Remember what we promised back then! We couldn't do it back then, but now... we can truly go see the world together, so let's finally spread our wings and fly!" Hiro smiled.

With that, a strong feeling filled Zero Two, and she found herself moving forward. Before Hiro could properly react, his eyes widened to the action of Zero Two kissing him.

**[Darling in the FranXX: Torikago - BGM Rearrange]**

Suddenly, the screen on her device showed a 200% reading for both their numbers.

* * *

Outside of Strelitzia, the Klaxosaur was about to chomp down on the robot, and everyone watched in horror as they began to close.

"Hiro! Zero Two!" Ichigo screamed.

As its jaws were about to crush Strelitzia, a strong glow suddenly resisted the Klaxosaur's bite, somehow lifting it into the air.

**"Synthesis State: Activated!"**

Strelitzia roared as she began to swing the Mohorovicc-Class with her teeth. During this time, her white armor turned red, and she slowly transformed back into her humanoid form. As she did, her hands grabbed onto the Klaxosaur in place of her now missing jaw before tossing it forward.

As this was happening, a small robot was shown on the roof of the Bird Nest, one with a camera that had been letting Doctor Franxx watch the battle since it began.

"_What is this?_" 001 asked in surprise.

"When negative and positive, the male and female factors, combine their hearts as one? These six Iron Maidens of mine will reveal their true forms." Doctor Franxx revealed.

Finishing its transformation, Strelitzia's horn moved back into place, causing her face to reappear and two X marks to appear on her helmet.

"Yes, this is what you two are truly capable of! This is the full power of your bond! Now go, show it to the world!" He exclaimed, raising his hands up.

Getting back on its feet, the Mohorovicc-Class roared before unleashing another beam at the empowered FRANXX, causing both its pilots to scream as they threw their lance forward. It cut right through the attack and latched into its mouth.

"Game over!" Strelitzia announced.

Strelitzia's spear pulled them in, and then shouted as she reached for her spear, slamming her finger on a trigger. Once she did, an explosion of magma energy was released inside the Klaxosaur's mouth.

The capsule containing the used energy flung itself into the air before falling back down with a loud thud. The Klaxosaur stayed still before exploding in a rain of blue goo.

Pulling the spear back, Strelitzia looked towards the sky as her armor reverted to its original colors, showing a big smile on her face. As this happened, a small hole in the sky from the released capsule caused a ray of sunlight to shine down on the FRANXX.

**[Insert Song End]**

As this happened, the rest of the Pack watched from inside the Hanger, in awe of what they had just witnessed Hiro and Zero Two pull off.

'So, that's a FRANXX... the kind of robot we'll be piloting.' Ichigo thought.

* * *

From the area of the Bird Nest they had been in, all twelve members Nines all stared at Strelitzia's form.

"We all saw that, right?" Iota asked.

"We did, but how!?" Lambda wondered.

Omega began gritting her teeth, refusing to accept what she saw as she walked off, causing her teammates to look at her retreating form.

"Whatever happened, it's clear that Omega's had a fire lit inside of her." Alpha smiled.

"Agreed, which makes it all the more important for us to step up our game." Gamma replied.

Having said those words, the remaining Nines followed Omega back inside, now with an even stronger drive to surpass the Parasites they were cloned from.

* * *

Meanwhile, within APE's council room, the footage of the battle had just reached them.

"How can a FRANXX do something like this?" Marmoset questioned.

"The Doctor has always had crazy ideas. Perhaps this is an application that uses the Klaxosaur blood within them?" Lemur suggested.

"It wouldn't surprise me. After all, it was due to his fascination with the Klaxosaurs that we ever had the means to create 002." Papa agreed.

Their feed soon showed the destroyed transport.

"However, now we've run into an unforeseen complication. This Klaxosaur was somehow able to ride a transport into the area of the Bird Nest, one of the few areas that no Klaxosaur would normally have any means of accessing, which can only mean one thing." Papa continued.

"Unlike when we only had 002, the Klaxosaur Princess must have become aware of the children possessing her blood." The Vice Chairman realized.

This left the rest of APE's members concerned.

"If that's true, then what are we to do?" Baboon inquired.

"Our hands have been forced. I'm afraid that for the safety of Humanity's future, we will have to make them into a Plantation's Squad." Papa decided.

He soon pressed his finger on a button, making a call to Doctor Franxx.

* * *

The doctor was currently inside a Plantation's communications room, chuckling to himself at how things went.

"_Have I ever said how strange you are?_" 001 inquired.

"Possibly, but I probably don't remember since I might consider that a compliment." He replied.

The Klaxosaur Princess sighed in response, right as Doctor Franxx saw he was getting a call from Papa.

"Right on cue." Doctor Franxx stated.

He answered the call, causing Papa's face to appear.

"Apologies if I'm interrupting anything, but I'm afraid that something's come up, and we need to make a change of plans." Papa greeted, making sure his tone was serious.

"What seems to be the problem?" Doctor Franxx inquired.

"Somehow, a Klaxosaur managed to attack the Bird Nest, and while 002 and 016 managed to stop it? It got inside by riding on a transport, which can only mean one thing..." Papa revealed.

"Ah, you think the Klaxosaur Princess might be involved." He realized.

Papa nodded his head.

"Strelitzia suddenly entered Stampede mode during this, which we believe was because the Klaxosaur Princess had linked with her. That poses a risk if we bring the hybrid Parasites anywhere near us. As such, we have no choice but to make them a Plantation Squad." Papa confirmed.

"Then you called at a good time. I'm at Plantation 13, and it seems that their communication equipment had been on the fritz for a while. They hadn't been able to tell you all of the Parasites in their squad disappeared in a recent battle." Doctor Franxx replied.

Papa let out an annoyed sigh in response.

"Let the mayor of that Plantation know he's fired and can return to the VR machine after he decides a replacement. As for their lack of a Squad, I'll need you to visit the Bird Nest in person and let the hybrids know of this sudden change of plans." Papa answered.

"Understood." Doctor Franxx replied, nodding his head.

Papa's face disappeared.

"It looks like everything went as we planned." He stated.

"_Controlling the mayor was easy enough. Now, what's our next move going to be?_" 001 inquired.

"We help those children learn the truth, and to strengthen their bonds." Doctor Franxx replied.

The Klaxosaur Princess nodded her head.

"So, how long do we have?" He asked.

"_Based on what Nawabari saw when I had him scout the area_? S_ix months. If we can't get everything done by then... this planet, and everyone on it, will be destroyed._" 001 revealed.

Upon hearing those words, Doctor Franxx began to sweat.

Time was of the essence, and if they messed up or failed to convince the Pack, now Squad 13, who their real enemies were? Then there was no future for this world.

* * *

**There was a lot that happened in this chapter. We got the full debut of the remaining Nines members, the Pack got to see their FRANXX, and Strelitzia used its red state to smash a Klaxosaur in what was a planned attack the Klaxosaur Princess had set up. Because of this attack, not only has she gotten to see the first instance of her hope rewarded, but has caused APE to make a decision that will cause them to still end up as Squad 13.**

**Hibiscus has finally made her appearance, and boy am I proud of its design. I chose to make it a FRANXX that uses a bow and arrow because every FRANXX in the series treats defense as a secondary concern. By making Hibiscus a sniper that fires arrows, the wings that act as the bow frame were able to double as necessary shields to cover her when she's aiming her arrows.**

**Now, for more on the Nines? We now know who each one is cloned from, and while some may seem like a stretch, I think being clones of Zero Two in canon already makes that a bit irrelevant for a few. As for why I didn't have Zeta, Eta, and Theta's other sister be Iota? Because Zero Two having that code make it feel like I should give that to a more prominent member, and because I think of the Youkai of the same name when I see their face masks.**

**I'm sure some people are a little surprised I had Red Strelitzia show this early, but to explain? In canon, Zero Two is three years older than Hiro, but the one in this story is the same age as him. As such, she doesn't have the experience that let her kill the Klaxosaur of Episode 1 that easily, and needed the boost of Red Strelitzia to achieve that result, hence why it appeared.**

**That, and in this story, it's a special feature all of Squad 13's FRANXX will have. If they can push their numbers to 200% (which only happened here due to Zero Two kissing Hiro) and keep them steady, they activate what this story calls the Synthesis State, and right now? Achieving this power up is impossible, as Strelitzia only achieved it because of pure adrenaline. In a way? This power up serves as a marker to the Grand Crevasse battle.**

**Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^**


End file.
